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Sat, 22 Nov 1997 16:59:55 -0600 |
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11-22-97
Back to Sleep
P.O. Box 29111
Washington DC 20040
Back to Sleep Campaigners:
Thank you for recommending breastfeeding as important in reducing the
risk of SIDS in your Back to Sleep pamphlet. However, I must take issue
with the way that it was presented. The other recommendations were
stated very strongly, with words like "make sure…baby sleeps on a firm
mattress," "no one should smoke…," and "you should not use alcohol or
drugs during pregnancy…" Why then was the breastfeeding recommendation
so wishy-washy?
( "If POSSIBLE, you should CONSIDER breastfeeding your baby. Breast milk
HELPS to keep your baby healthy." ) [emphasis mine] I bet a pamphlet
on preventing head injury would not say "if possible, consider having
your child wear a bicycle helmet."
Perhaps you did not want to make mothers feel guilty - that is the pat
excuse given most of the time. Why are the breastfeeding statements the
only ones that are so weakly stated? It would seem that in producing such
a pamphlet, your goal would be to present the relevant facts in a
compelling way, so that parents would follow through with the
recommendations. Since there is overwhelming evidence about the
superiority of breastfeeding and the very real hazards of artificial
feeding, I feel you unfairly de-emphasized breastfeeding.
Sincerely,
Laurie Wheeler, RNC, MN, IBCLC
Louisiana Breastfeeding MediaWatch
Violet Louisiana USA
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