> You may be missing  the BIG PICTURE here. The main reason they are giving
> this rebates out is to get the mothers name and address so they can market
> directly to her.

This may be so. But I doubt it is the main reason, although extremely
significant as you will see. Maybe even less obvious, but probably even
more important from a marketing point of view, is that they want to get
*NAME RECOGNITION* (double emphasis intended) into mom's psyche. One of
the first OB conferences I ever attended (must have been 1980) said that
there is something like a 95% name product loyalty to the first formula
a mom ever uses. Even if she breastfeeds at first, statistically she
will stop before the first birthday, and statistically she will choose
that first-used formula brand for the remainder of the first year. Why
else do you think so-called "house formula" is so hotly contested, or
being the WIC-brand of the year goes to court on charges of monopoly?
The freebies only reinforce name recognition, as do the calendars
hanging in the nursery or the peds offices. It has been a very difficult
thing to get brand names in front of breastfeeding moms. The formula
companies know that even if moms breastfeeds and *never* uses formula,
if she has "Mead-Johnson" or "Carnation" or "Ross" in her mind, she will
be more receptive to purchasing "Infant Tylenol" (M-J) vs store brand,
or Carnation Instant Breakfast when her breastfed teen is too busy to
slow down in the morning for a real breakfast, or whatever. Companies
protect their names with trademarks, and if bought out, are paid "huge
money" if there is significant name recognition in the
marketplace...sometimes the "name" has greater assets than the tangible
parts of the company itself!!

Food (?) for thought...
Katharine West, BSN, MPH
Sherman Oaks, CA