>Dear all:
>
>I was deeply disappointed yesterday when I saw a mother who was EXCLUSIVELY
>breastfeeding  from a hospital that is generally fairly decent on 
>breastfeeding issues.  She
>was given a breastfeeding bag with two packages of powdered formula. 
>For the first time
>ever, I simply dumped the POWDERED formula that someone slipped into 
>her breastfeeding
>bag into the trash compacter and told them they shouldn't even give 
>it to friends who are
>formula feeding.  Really, do hospitals not recognize (or the person 
>to might have slipped
>the formual into the bag) that this might create a liability?  And 
>why is this happening in an
>almost breastfeeding friendly hospital?
>
Best, Susan


 From our experience in the UK,  things like this don't stop happening 
until they are banned by law. Good practice, guidelines, 
recommendations, strategies, policies, awards, extra 
training.....yeah yeah yeah all worthwhile but the only thing that 
stops free samples and unethical marketing is the law.  I might have 
mentioned this before on Lactnet as I have a bit of a bee in my 
bonnet about it, sorry  ;)

We have a zillion miles to go with regard to bf support and 
prevention of unethical marketing here, but no one would *dream* of 
giving a new mother a sample of formula unless it was a medical 
necessity (ff mother discharged at night, no all-night supermarket 
open, no formula at home, for instance), and no one has an opinion on 
this any longer - it's just something that doesn't happen.

At least, that's what I thought.....locally, we had a situation in 
the summer where a SureStart centre had some cans of formula near 
their sell-by date. Now, clinics/centres are no longer allowed to 
sell formula (by law) and this clinic for some reason did not simply 
send the cans back to the makers. Someone decided to offer them as a 
give-away to the breastfeeding mothers' group!!!  (SureStart is a 
govt programme directing extra health and social support to parents 
of young children in poorer neighbourhoods).

Well......I am glad to say,  a bit like Chicken Licken and his acorn, 
the sky almost did fall in. Immediately the news went round and the 
manager of the area SureStart was contacted by the lead Public Health 
doctor, the law cited, and an immediate clarification of the legal 
position was sent to the centre and the offer was withdrawn.  It is 
enormously helpful  to be able to say 'you can't do this because it 
is against the law' and you don't have to bother trying to nicely 
persuade people that it's not such a good idea  (though you can be 
polite and explain the rationale).

We would *love* a law in England like the one in Scotland (and in 
some USstates) that prevents harrassment of any breastfeeding mother 
and baby and which makes it an offence to ask her to go somewhere 
else.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK

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