Very nice! Please let us know if you get a response.
Ingrid
-----Original Message-----
From: Lactation Information and Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Susan Burger
Sent: Sunday, October 17, 2010 7:44 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: UNICEF's webist
Here's what I sent to the UNICEF UK Babyfriendly office. I am tired of the assumption that bottle feeding = formula feeding. UNICEF should know better, but James Grants putting BREASTFEEDING as a priority has long been watered down to the point that breastfeeding is now merely a footnote if it appears at all.
Best, Susan Burger
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To whom it may concern:
First, I applaud your bringing to light the problem of follow on formulas. I find there is too little information for parents about the hazards of infant formulas and the misleading marketing. I would also recommend that you add information about the risks of powdered formula and link to the World Health Organization recommendations for mixing the powders. These can be lethal -- especially during natural disasters where water and sanitation systems are disrupted. Parents should be advised of the risks.
Second, having worked in international public health nutrition for decades and now working as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, I must speak up about misleading information on your website. Bottle feeding is not the same as formula feeding. There are many alternatives for bottle feeding before you get to formula including mothers own milk, human donor milk from nonprofit milk banks, human milk from for profit milk banks, and milk sharing. If you are going to put up information about bottle feeding, you should ALSO put up information about the benefits and risks of all the alternatives. Or.... if that is too challenging, change your title to FORMULA FEEDING rather than bottle feeding. By the way, formula feeding can also occur via cup (which is an excellent alternative during emergencies when you cannot clean a bottle properly), via a tube on a finger, via a tube on the breast, via a syringe, via a dropper, and via a spoon.
I was a bit surprised that a UNICEF office wasn't more proactive about providing COMPLETE information to parents -- while pleased that at least there was some attempt to make parents aware of the dangers of one of a long list of deceptive marketing tactics by the formula industry.
Sincerely,
Susan E. Burger, MHS, PhD, IBCLC
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