Mary Grace asked for copies of letter to Good Housekeeping regarding the poor
breastfeeding artcile in the May issue. Here is mine:

Marsha Walker
Weston, MA
                                                                                     April 14, 1998
Editor, Good Housekeeping
959 Eighth Ave
New York, NY 10019

To the Editor:

As a nurse and lactation consultant, I was deeply dismayed and concerned with
the Health Check section on breastfeeding by Dr. Nancy Snyderman in your May
1998 issue. Rather than presenting your readers with facts, the author
dismisses the enormous amount of data that shows a distinct difference in both
the growth and cognitive outcomes of babies fed infant formula compared with
human milk. There is a difference between normality and optimality. Human milk
is designed to prime the immune system and protect infants and children from
disease. It is also designed to grow the brain. Components for brain growth
that are normal parts of human milk are not found in infant formula. Thus the
brain of a formula-fed baby must substitute other ingredients, making it
chemically different than if it were provided with human milk components.

It is unfortunate that Dr. Snyderman considers breastfeeding a hassle, has
tried to assuage her own feelings about not breastfeeding, and has mislead
readers into thinking that human milk and formula are the same thing. Please
consider having future articles about infant feeding written by an expert on
that topic.

Sincerely,


Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC
President, Lactation Associates