Hi

I've been working on my rebuttal all weekend. The majority of reponders
recommend that I do not let this ignorant woman have the last word. It's not
HER that my message will make a difference to, but the rest of the readers.
Following is my almost final draft. It will be sent as is unless I get any
other little pearls of wisdom that I want to incorporate into it. Please
don't hesitate to comment.


February 1, 1997

Dear Editor,

I thank  Allison Morgan for her letter of January 31, 1997, and I hear and
acknowledge
the fact that many mothers do not enjoy a successful breastfeeding
relationship.  Mostly
this is due to lack of support for breastfeeing in our culture.  I also hear
and acknowledge
the pain and grief that this causes for women of many lands...The fact of
the matter is, that
the formula industry is the largest pharmaceutical industry in the world,
and that their
efforts are unfortunately, the cause of infant mortality and morbidity
throughout the
world.

It is important for me to clarify that in my recent letter to the editor, I
was NOT
condeming mothers for chosing to artificially feed their infants. Ms. Morgan
evidently
took the meaning of my letter out of context. My intent was to coment on the
grocery
store's assumption that all new parents choose this inferior method of
infant feeding. My
suggestion was that they reconsider the gift they bestow on the parents of
the last baby
born of the year. I urged them to give a store gift certificate of equal
value  instead. Those
who choose artificial infant feeding (bottle feeding formula), may chose to
redeem it for
artificial baby milk (formula) and parents who choose to breastfeed may
redeem it for
food.

I'm glad that Ms. Morgan's baby is healthy and I am confident that they have
formed a
happy, loving bond. No one disputes that issue. However, I would like to
take this
opportunity to expand on my thoughts.

An individual bottle-fed baby may be healthy, but if you look at 10,000
bottle babies and
10,000 breastfed babies the difference will become very clear.  Just because
you didn't
have a car accident the last time you drove your car doesn't mean that it
was OK for you
to drive without your seat belt or that you won't have an accident the next
time.  Your
child may be healthy now, but how do you know that his IQ may not have been
10 points
higher if he was breastfed?  How do you know that he won't get diabetes when
he is 25
because he was not breastfed.

It is important for mothers to have all the facts about the health issues of
their family and
make a truly informed choice.  Granted some mother / infant pairs find that
Breastfeeding
is just too hard for them.  My point is that it is not appropriate for our
society and the
commercial business community to ASSUME that everybody will use formula.  It
is this
mind set of the masses that prevents BREASTFEEDING from being viewed as the norm
for mothers and babies.  Many Scandinavian countries have breastfeeding
initiation rates
of 95% or more.  In those societies breastfeeding is viewed as the norm.
Women don't
even consider the options about how to feed their infants in the hospital.
Ever wonder if
the high breastfeeding rates in those countries have something to do with
the better rates
of infant mortality that they have?

Until all of America realizes that breastmilk is the superior food for
infants, we will
continue to suffer the ravages of increased childhood infections, SIDS, and
higher rates of
breast cancer in women. The facts are well documented, and this letter could
get lengthy if
I were to list the extensive research references to back this up (although I
am willing to do
such if requested).

Why do you think the store wants to give away formula?  Because it is the
best thing on
the planet for the infant?  Because the baby will starve if the store
doesn't give it out?
Because they are on a mission to help as many people as they can?  No of
course not, they
are giving it away because they know that it is a "loss leader".  Give the
case away and the
mother will have to buy dozens of more cases because they have altered the
natural
process and provided a perverse incentive for the mother not to feed her
child naturally.

It is rare that a women can truly not breastfeed, but our society does not help
breastfeeding mothers and usually undermines them, such as stuffing their
suitcases with
free formula samples upon dismissal from the hospital, or stores giving away
free formula
as a prize. Sadly, many physicians are even grossly lacking in basic
breastfeeding
management knowledge. So, when a desperate mother experiencing difficulty
calls her
doctor, oftentimes the recommendation is to wean, because of his/her limited
breastfeeding knowledge.

One last thought: If artificial infant feeding is "just as good" as
breastfeeding, then I
wonder why the American Accademy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for
at least
the first 12 months of life, and the World Health Organization recommends
breastfeeding
for the first two years? Why do the artifical baby milk (formula) TV
commercials use the
disclaimer that "breast is best, but..." I say once again...human milk is
the superior infant
food.

We in Newton, are very lucky to  have excellent breastfeeding support
through the local
La Leche League Groups, as well as our very own Lactation consultant at
Skiff. For
breastfeeding information or help, an accredited La Leche League Leader can
be reached
at 791-1664, and the Lactation Consultant at Skiff can be reached at 791-4817.

Although breastfeeding has been proven to be the best for babies, I realize
that not all
mothers choose to do so for whatever reasons.  I realize we all make the
decision that we
feel is best for our families.