Nancy,
You wrote, "However, the emotions many of the women on this site are feeling
are being channeled in another direction. They are angry at breastfeeding,
breastfeeding advocates, and breastfeeding promotion. In a way it makes sense."
You have written a very compassionate and thoughtful post in regard to the
website, 201 reasons to formula feed. I think careful thought and compassion
are important ingredients in mending the many "broken hearts" in regard to
breastfeeding in our society. But I do beg this list to consider that this website
is sponsored by the infant formula industry. So who is channeling anger
towards breastfeeding, breastfeeding advocates, and breastfeeding promotion? Not
mothers who need a comfortable place to vent. No, it is this industry that
has much to lose, if anyone questions the additions of DHA and AA.
For example their information on breastfeeding states the following:
"This site is put together by Enfamil, and to be honest, it is the most down
to earth, easy to understand, non-political place to get information!"
http://201reasons.webattitude.com/info_bf.htm
What??? Read that twice or thrice---and think about the implications.
Enfamil is non-political, I am so glad to know that. Of course the implication is
that breastfeeding advocates are political. And I guess being political in
these times is quite the dirty word.
The major banner I saw at this website was for VIACORD which is an offspring
of the company VIACELL. VIACELL has an alliance with Genzyme. And Genzyme
just happens to collaborate with Martek Bioscience. Thus all the sponsors of
this particular website are from industries or collaborate with industries that
are trying to sell us DHA and AA. Have you looked at what this site says
about DHA and AA? Quite interesting.
I bottlefed my first baby because of major problems breastfeeding. I
eventually relactated but I remember all to well the enormous black hole that I felt
when breastfeeding disintegrated. I recognize the grief a mother will go
through when breastfeeding "fails." My grief was never directed at breastfeeding,
breastfeeding advocates, or breastfeeding promotion. It was an intense
sadness, depression. In fact I sometimes think this kind of grief is mixed up with
what we call postpartum depression. It was not directed outward but inward.
I felt an enormous sense of personal failure. Maybe if I had a formula
company to redirect my grief into anger at breastfeeding, I might have been on the
201 reasons to formula feed list. Instead, I redirected my grief into figuring
out how to relactate.
I think it is a mistake to assume that this website is just about formula
feeding mothers who have "good reasons" to vent against breastfeeding. Rather I
see it as a way for the infant formula industry to redirect anger against the
infant formula industry towards breastfeeding. Its an excellent marketing
stategy. One might even call it political--involving the use of intrigue to
obtain a position of power. (Random House College dictionary definition of
politics)
Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC
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