>Just another thought about the article.  It may not have been written by
>a journalist, but may come from a press release by the MRC people.  It's
>a shame the journalists don't know enough to question what's given ....


I don't think we can blame the journalists. If you read this particular
article by Lucas ("Randomised trial of early diet in preterm babies and
later intelligence quotient" BMJ 1998 - Lucas et al. 317 (7171): 1481) you
will find that the article ONLY reports on one aspect of his study -  the
groups who used standard vs preterm formula, followed up at 7-8 years. For
reasons best known to his sponsors, Lucas chooses not to discuss in this
article the fact that the breastmilk fed babies did much better than either
of these groups.

Sad.  But that's what happens when you do company sponsored research.

Ros Escott BAppSc IBCLC
Hobart, Tasmania
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