Linda Anderegg recounted her feelings after being invited to a promotional
evening at Hollister, and Liz Brooks clarifies what the IBLCE code of ethics
says about our contact with companies who manufacture products covered by the
WHO code on marketing of breastmilk substitutes.

I submit that, while it is imperative that we not compromise ourselves through
relationships to the infant food and feeding product industries, it is also
worth our while to be aware of how our relationships to companies who make
products we use frequently, can be seen to influence our judgment.

I don't want a mother who seeks help from me to have to wonder whether I am
recommending a pump because I have a warm fuzzy feeling when I think of the
pump company, or at least that particular pump company, or if it is because she
actually needs a pump and the one I suggest is the best one available for her
needs.

I don't even want to have to wonder about it myself.  So I would likely decline
the very tempting offer of food and wine, and if you know what wine costs here
you know it is hard to refuse when it's free, and I'd try to resist the
flattery of a personal invitation to the event, and continue to seek
information about the company's products (as well as their behavior) from an
independent source.

I want companies who make products that are relevant to our practice, to be just
as far ahead of other companies ethically, as breast milk is as far ahead of any
other food for newborn babies.  I am not willing to accept the model of
physician/pharmaceutical rep, or nursing staff/formula rep, as the benchmark
for ethical relationships between lactation consultants and manufacturers of
products aimed at breastfeeding mothers.  This goes for breast pads, creams,
clothing, pumps, pillows, and any of the other multitudes of gadgets and
gidgies that occasionally are a godsend and mostly are just a way to separate
new mothers from their money.

Rachel Myr
grouchy and cantankerous on the night shift, in Kristiansand, Norway

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