Dear lactnetters,

A client brought this to my attention today.  She sais a friend had read
an ad for this product in a magazine at her OB's office.  she wanted to
know if there was anything to it.

The website is:
http://www.nutritionfortwo.com/products/vitrel_3/index.asp?sid=604369364

The opening paragraph states:
"Want Your Newborn To Sleep Through The Night?

Natural Supplement You Take In The Third Trimester Of Your Pregnancy Helps
Stabilize Erratic Infant Sleep Patterns After Your Child Is Born

Ask any parent. When your baby doesn’t sleep, you don’t sleep. Waking up
in the middle of the night (night after night) can be overwhelming…
creating a cycle of sleep deprivation leading to mental and physical
fatigue, frayed nerves and increased tension that can destroy your sex
life, ruin relationships and make you look and feel years older than you
really are. After five or six months go by, you’re totally exhausted and
emotionally drained. What sort of mom will you be? What sort of lover?
What sort of wife? Don’t panic just yet.

Babies Slept Better And Longer, With Fewer Late-Night Interruptions…
If Mom Consumed “Super Nutrient” During Third Trimester

A new government-funded study (by no less than the National Institutes of
Health) conducted at the University of Connecticut and recently published
in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that mothers who
consumed adequate amounts of a completely safe, all-natural, fatty acid
derivative called Cervonic Acid (the active nutrient in Vitrel-3™ ) during
the third trimester of pregnancy gave birth to newborns who slept better
and longer… with fewer late-night interruptions."

The page goes on and on along the same lines.

I searched for the orginal article and the the full text of this study is
located at:

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/76/3/608

The study compared sleep patterns of 17 newborns during their postpartum
stay. They eliminated the babies who had less than 4 hours in the crib -
the ones getting frequent feeds and snuggled close to mum.

I called the 1-800 number and spoke to the order desk people.  They didn't
know what to do with my questions about what expections about sleep they
were intending to create among their customers.  They said the customer
service people "weren't in their office" at the moment but they could pass
on my information.  There is a customer service email address and they
said that would reach the right people.

[log in to unmask]

I sent the following message to custmoner service.  I will let you know
what I hear.

"I have some questions about your product Vitrel-3 and the claims on your
website.  I have read the original study in the American Journal of
Nutrition. My main concern is determining what expectations you are
intending to create in the minds of your customers in relation to newborn
sleep.  What do you mean by sleeping through the night?

I am curious to hear your rationale for promoting sleeping through the
night in newborns. I am also concerned about the impact of your
information on parents and their infants.  We know that infants need to
receive 8-12 breastfeedings in 24 hours.  The expectation that infants
should sleep through the night from birth could result in infants being
underfed or in parents being frustrated and supplementing with formula
when their infant does not meet these expectations.

Please let me know your thoughts."

Janet Vandenberg RN, BScN, IBCLC

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html