Dear NYTimes

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/10/business/10prepare.ready.html?pagewanted=2&th&emc=th

This was an interesting and relevant article on storing food for emergencies, but this sentence leapt out at me.

"Don't forget ready-to-feed baby formula if you have an infant."

Good grief, if there is ANY time for Americans to acknowledge the benefits of breastfeeding, it's now.  Nothing to store, nothing to carry, nothing to warm, nothing to sterilise (ie bottles).  Breast milk is full of antibodies that will help protect the baby from the bugs that are going around (even those her mother catches), which is particularly relevant when people can't get to hospitals.  The act of breastfeeding is very soothing for mothers as well as babies, and releases calming hormones, very helpful in crisis situations.  Breast milk can also be given to older children in emergencies, at a very good energy-exchange rate from the mother's food supply or fat stores.

And a minor plus - breast milk is so well absorbed, there are fewer of those clunky soiled diapers that artificially fed infants produce to huge excess. Most likely diapers won't be available either, let alone ways to dispose of them.

It's amazing to the rest of the world that Americans seem think of formula first when thinking about infants.  It is especially horrific reading about it in an article on planning for an emergency.  Woman-made is better than man-made when thinking of infant feeding!

To paraphrase one of your better thoughts: "Abraham Lincoln and MRS LINCOLN must be your role models because when the electricity goes, all you have at your disposal are the things people of the 19th century got by on."

Jacquie Nutt
South Africa

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