>Julie writes, "As a former home-visiting nurse to parents of 
>newborns, I can testify that giving a free can or two of formula at 
>each visit was a large part of my function.  Mind you, if this 
>wasn't done, many parents wouldn't accept services, and some of 
>these babies wouldn't have been fed...period."
>
>This is shocking.  I should stress that I'm only citing Julie's 
>words as just one more example of similar statements I've heard to 
>defend provision of free formula.  Colleagues on both sides of the 
>Atlantic have told me that if free formula wasn't available, then 
>parents would feed their babies ordinary cow's milk, or coca cola, 
>or almost any other unsuitable liquid - deliberately.  Can it be 
>true?  Does this really happen??


I share your concerns, Pamela....and I too have heard the same 
warnings. I have always been very sceptical - I am certain that some 
parents would feed their babies anything because sadly, there are 
always ignorant, abusive, non-caring parents as well as truly 
inadequate ones or totally clueless ones, who mean well but who just 
don't know about baby care.  But whether free formula prevents this, 
I really don't know.

Free formula cannot replace the sort of supportive,  caring and 
educational help with parenting the inadequate and the clueless need, 
anyway...if someone is really giving their baby fizzy pop (UK word 
for US soda) in a bottle, then they need a lot more than free 
formula.  If they are abusive enough not to feed their kid, then the 
kid needs a lot more than free formula, too.

Free samples of formula are never acceptable (except in cases of dire 
emergency). I could be persuaded that vouchers (like the UK Healthy 
Start vouchers which are exchangable for a range of foods inc 
formula) are necessary, if I was shown research that demonstrated 
babies would not get fed at all without them, or would be given fizzy 
pop.

I also remain (along with Jack Newman) unconvinced that ordinary cows 
milk (boiled, diluted, sugared) is massively worse than formula, 
anyway....but I think the formula manufacturers have won that 
particular commercial battle now.

Heather Welford Neil

NCT bfc, tutor

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