-----Original Message-----
From: To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Sent: Thu, 17 May 2007 1:35 AM
Subject: [lactivism] Next steps in advancing the Breastfeeding Promotion Act=
-please spread to all breastfeeding and mother friendly lists and boards and=
 organizations

Hello Lactnetters

It was good to see the post/s on Lactnet about the US situation and the proposed Breastfeeding Promotion Act.  The Australian House of Representatives committee hearing evidence on the "health benefits of breastfeeding" is continuing its hearings, after having been swamped with at least 350 written submissions.  The submissions are being gradually posted on the committee website and when I looked yesterday were up to #275.  See www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/haa/breastfeeding./index.htm  Many of the submissions correctly point out that breastfeeding should be promoted as *normal*, not as an optional add-on that confers benefits, and that it is feeding with artificial baby milks that creates a less-than-normal situation.  A lot of the submissions from the public deplore the advertising of toddler milks, as a backdoor way of advertising companies' products for infants.

The submissions I've so far read, which include those from health professionals and mothers, and a few fathers, support the fact that Australia is a bottle-feeding society, which my own research has shown.  Hopefully, the committee will be able to implement some of the key suggestions, rather than just publish a bulky report to gather dust.  The key members of the committee seem to be doing a good job, despite the response which was far in excess of what was expected.

Cheers
Virginia

Virginia Thorley, OAM, PhD, IBCLC
Lactation Consultant (original cohort of 1985).
Cultural historian of the History of Medicine.
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
[log in to unmask]

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
Mail all commands to [log in to unmask]
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask])
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask])
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]