>Heather,
>I  think you have misunderstood me.  I have never written or said in public
>or privately that in the process of giving mothers information about risks of
>infant formula feeding that we make them feel personally at fault.  In fact I
>believe this is the example of the smokescreen that happens on Lactnet
>everytime the issue of risks of infant formula are discussed.
>Joanne who states she
>agrees with you, states, "I sometimes wonder about how rational the discussion
>is on either side...."
>
>Instead of discussing the risk of death in the USA because of infant formula
>use, we end up being sidetracked on how we shouldn't make moms feel guilty.


Thanks for clarifying, Valerie.

I don't think it is a side issue, though....of course, it can be made
to be, and used by people who (wittingly or unwittingly) do the
formula manufacturers' marketing job for them.

But for *us*, how we present the information to mothers, without
using fear or coercion, is central.

>  I
>have said this before and I will say it again, the guilt falls squarely on
>the shoulders of governments, universities, medical communities, and
>industries
>that have benefited from the marketing of infant formula.


I totally agree.

>
>Mothers have to understand who shoulders the guilt.  It certainly isn't them.
>  If the lactation community fails to communicate the risks of infant formula,
>their silence makes them as guilty as the infant formula industries.

I think sometimes, our communication skills are not up to the job,
and it is good to discuss how we achieve truthfulness, honesty,
openess *alongside*  acceptance of mothers - whatever way they feed
their babies.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, UK

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