Dear Fellow Lactnetters,
A week or two ago I read a brief post mentioning a new booklet that
Enfamil sends new parents. The next day, a client of mine who is also a
pediatrician, came to my office expressing her dismay in having received the
pamphlet. It seems that it was strategically timed to arrive at her home
during those vulnerable early weeks of breastfeeding. It was part of a "gift
pack" of formula samples.
Neither of us could find the usual disclaimer about "breast milk is
best BUT...", and it is quite transparant in its goal of swaying moms to
switch to formula. For example, one paragraph is sub-titled "Be good to
yourself" and reads:
If you choose to formula-feed, your partner or other family members
will be able to share in the feeding experience. And you can use this
precious free time to do something for yourself-take a walk, take a bath,
read a book, even take a nap-it isn't just your baby who needs the rest!
Also, in bold, "You can also look to us as a valuable resource to
bring you nutritional infomration and the support you need, when you need it."
And of course, there's the 3/4 page step-by-step chart on how to wean
to Enfamil in fourteen days.
My question is, Can this be stopped? The health care providers I
shared it with were incensed, but how can this get a wider audience? Does it
qualify as "media" for Media Watch?
Note the timing of the mailing---At three weeks, most babies don't
have a ped.s appt. scheduled for over a month, hospital follow-up has
stopped, initial contact from their nursing mother counselor was made weeks
ago (and *hopefully* is on-going...).
This is so frustrating! What do you think? Can anything be done?
-Debi Page Ferrarello, RN, MS, IBCLC
Breastfeeding Resources, Inc.
Abington, PA
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
