Hi Renee,
Promoting breastfeeding fits right in with emergency preparedness because if
women are breastfeeding they do not need to do anything to prepare
specifically for their babies' wellbeing except look after themselves and
adults are much less vulnerable than babies. An adult can keep hydrating on
coke if nothing else is available but not so babies. What I found quite
amazing with the situation in New Orleans was that practices did not change
even as the disaster unfolded. Right up until Katrina hit, women and their
babies continued to be discharged from maternity hospitals not
breastfeeding. In spite of what had become clear in the days immediately
following Katrina (ie formula fed babies dying or becoming very ill because
they did not have food),  when Hurricane Rita hit Texas weeks later, many
more babies were put at risk as artificial feeding remained the norm. WHY??
I think you can safely say in your seminar that if people do not want their
babies to be put at risk if there is an emergency then  they will breastfeed
because in any emergency artifically fed babies are in a very precarious
situation.
Karleen Gribble
Australia


We are going to be having an area wide seminar on emergency  preparedness in
> the near future.  I would like to develop a plan,  explaining the
importance
> of breast feeding/relactation in such an emergency,  and ways to implement
the
> plan in a disaster allowing as many well fed  babies in a scary situation
as
> possible.  Any one have a model I could  follow?  Or ideas to put into it?
> Sounds like this time I may  actually be able to bring the point home.
>
> Renee Drake RN CLC

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