Pamela,

Yes, in "our" world knowledge of the function of the breast is more important
than a pump.  I did not think that Peter Hartman was employed by Medela.  I
realize he is a researcher and as a researcher, he is fascinated with the way
things work.  You wrote that Medela will pay for the research and use it to
"understand the lactating breast?"  No, that is where I believe you are
mistaken.  Medela will use the research to sell more pumps or more equipment.
 They are a business.  They use their knowledge to sell equipment.

"Our goals, our beliefs" as LC's are not one and the same as a business.  A
business survives by making money.  Everyone putting a baby to the breast is
not going to help Medela survive as a business entity.  This says nothing
about their ethics.  It is just plain fact.

You also wrote
"However, there are babies who cannot go to breast, there are mothers who
want desparately to have the choice of providing their milk long term as
opposed to formula and it is easier for them to that if the pump actually
works.  Yes, in the ideal world there would be no need of pumps, all babies
would be born healthy and in tact and nursing would proceed without
complications.  But, that is not the reality of our day.  And yes, I know all
about hand expression which is by far my personal choice (as in I like to
hand express, do not like to use a pump....but I am not all mothers), but
that does not mean I want pumps being manufactured that hurt mothers and do
not help with milk production."

I have no illusions.  There is no "human" world where problems do not exist.
Life and death, health and illness are a part of our existence.  Hand
expression is not the only answer.  We have equipment for a reason.  But we
use equipment and we introduce some new risks.  Interventions always carry a
risk.   For instance, a mother with a preterm infant in the hospital has an
good electric pump and her milk supply drops.  Why?  The pump works fine and
the mother is pumping regularly.  What should we do about it?  I often see on
this list that these moms will get prescriptions for certain drugs to improve
their milk supplies.  But is the problem about the mom's milk supply or about
the fact that she is separated from her infant?   Is the real answer to be
found in a better electric pump, or more pumping or in more and better drugs?
 Maybe the answer is simply that separation from a baby, the lack of skin to
skin contact with a baby results in lowered milk supplies.  Mom simply needs
to be with the baby.  But due to our medical care system, we don't let that
happen.  So instead we substitute these interventions.  Yes, we have to have
these interventions because of a medical and cultural system that refuses to
see that breastfeeding is difficult to maintain during separations.  Yes,
women make it work, but they make it work at a great cost physically,
emotionally and spiritually.  And god only knows how this effects the little
person, the infant who faces a world full of pain without its mother.

After looking at 600+ human milk patents, I have a different feeling about
human milk research.  A small part of this research does benefit
breastfeeding.  Researchers are doing what they love to do and getting paid
for it.  What more could we want?  The problem is that this research is
bought and paid for by the infant formula, drug and vaccine industry.  So
what the media gets is a twisted and warped version of the research from the
companies that stand to profit by the imitation of breast milk or
breastfeeding. On the other hand, we may never hear about some of the
wonderful things that researchers have found out about human milk. (For
instance the use of human milk in regard to cancers--now just coming out in
the media--but Nestle knew about it in the 80's)

Much of this drive for research is premised on two ideas.  First, that there
will always be a need for infant formula because not all women want to
breastfeed.  This never questions why alot of woman refuse to breastfeed or
breastfeed briefly.  Second, that imitating or improving upon human milk
should be our goal in regard to infant feeding.  Why all this investment on
imitating human milk or breast function?  That investment means that little
is invested in "breastfeeding."

I am hoping I have explained myself better.  Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC



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