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Subject:
From:
Barbara Wilson-Clay <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 4 Mar 2000 08:53:58 -0600
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Dear Colleagues,
I have some extremely bad news.  I had hoped soon to tell you of a new plan
forged from a  wonderful political alliance  forged in Texas between the
milkbanking community and the Texas legislature.  We had a legislator
friendly to babies who was going to propose more federal funding (through
Medicaid) for donor milk for medically fragile infants whose families lack
financial resources.  Word of this somehow threatened the power/money
interests, and now the United States Department of Agriculture is pulling
their current level of funding of donor milk from WIC (which has for 20 yrs
provided funds for donor milk in certain cirucumstances).  Further, and even
more reprehensibly, the USDA has issued a press release (attached below)
which implies that donor milk is not safe.  This is a deal cut on a golf
course and made while standing on the bodies of poor infants.  If you are
born into a family rich enough or stable enough or supported by good enough
institutional breastfeeding support, your premature infant doesn't have to
get NEC.  If you are a low income family, part of the WIC formula feed-lot,
statistically more likely to be premature, statistically more likely to
develop obesity, diabetes, and asthma, have we got a deal for you.

Folks, it ain't free, it ain't fair, and it just isn't nice.

Read it and weep, and then start writing letters and making what ever kind
of noise you can make.

WIC TO HALT USE OF BANKED HUMAN BREAST MILK

WASHINGTON, March 1, 2000  The federal WIC program will no longer allow
the use of banked human breast milk for some infants with special needs,
Agriculture Under Secretary Shirley K. Watkins said today.

In the past, WIC has allowed banked breast milk as a substitute for
WIC-eligible formulas in some special cases.  But Under Secretary
Watkins said few infants have needed the milk, and no federal health and
safety standards exist to govern human milk banks.  In addition to the
lack of federal standards, she said, there are no provisions for
mandatory pathogen, drug, toxin and allergen screening, and banked
breast milk must be pasteurized, which may cause it to lose some of its
intrinsic nutritive value.

"Over the last eight to 10 years, WIC has served millions of infants,
and perhaps 23 have needed this milk," Watkins said.  "This is a small
niche that WIC has filled, but there are a number of concerns that now
cause us to discontinue providing this benefit."

Considering all these factors could put WIC infants at risk from
possibly contaminated or otherwise unsafe breast milk, Watkins said, and
could also place USDA and WIC state and local agencies at risk of
liability.

Watkins emphasized that the change does not diminish WIC's historically
strong commitment to promoting and supporting breastfeeding.

"Research has shown that there is no better food than breast milk for a
baby's first year of life," Watkins said.  "Since a major goal of WIC is
to improve the nutritional status of infant, we encourage WIC mothers to
breastfeed their infants whenever possible."

WIC  officially named the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants and Children  provides supplemental food, nutrition
education and access to health care for more than 7 million pregnant
women, new mothers,
and infants and children up to age 5.

###
____

Barbara Wilson-Clay, BSEd, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates, Austin, Texas
http://www.lactnews.com

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