Several Lacnetters have asked whether there is some recourse regarding the
bold marketing practices that US formula companies are carrying out. Actually
there is. The National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy (NABA) has just
completed the State of the Code in the US report. NABA is the US IBFAN
organization that was responsible for carrying out Code monitoring in the US
for the latest Breaking the Rules report. I need to thank many of you for
sending me examples of Code violations and urge you to continue doing so to
enable us to track marketing trends.

A dandy sample was sent to me that new breastfeeding mothers receive at the
two week pediatric check up. It is entitled "Mom's Breastfeeding Transition
Kit." It contains a can of powdered formula, 4 bottles of ready-to-feed
formula, a sample of cereal containg formula ingredients, a disposable nipple
unit, and a booklet called "Easing the transition to supplementing and
weaning." There is a chart in the booklet on weaning from breast to formula
in 14 days.

One of the obvious marketing trends that we picked up in the monitoring
project was the crushing pressure being put on mothers and health care
providers to encourage supplementation. If the breastfeeding mother can be
persuaded to supplement, lowering her milk supply, then a market is created
for formula where none existed before. It is in the best interest of the
formula company to create an insufficient milk supply in a breastfeeding
mother. The US report will be available this summer from NABA with details of
the monitoring project and the results of what we found.

The closest thing we have in the US for where to send complaints about
marketing practices is the Federal Trade Commission which polices truth in
advertising. I have found little of that in the piles of formula marketing
materials strewn around my office.

NABA will also be offering Code training to those interested in learning more
about the Code and how to use it, as well as anyone who would like to become
involved as a formal Code monitor in the US. I will be talking about some of
this in Chicago at the LLLI conference. Please continue to send me any and
all samples of formula marketing so we can continue to watch what is
happening.

Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC
Weston, MA

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