Great, Susan.
We all fight our battles, don't we? I will be in a meeting about the
crying-it-out-guideline again.
There is still so much to be improved... the old version should definitely
not be an appendix to the new multidisciplinary one!
And as for the breastfeeding-guideline-project I was working on a couple of
weeks ago... the difference between breastfeeding, bottlefeeding and formula
feeding was one of the issues we dealt with, too.
It is so hard to keep up with everything that is being published and
deserves a thorough round of editing... good, that we are with many! :-))
Bye,
Marianne Vanderveen IBCLC, Netherlands (and soon to be guest at Susan's,
yeah! :-))
----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Burger" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, October 17, 2010 4:43 PM
Subject: Re: [LACTNET] UNICEF's webist
Here's what I sent to the UNICEF UK Babyfriendly office. I am tired of the
assumption that bottle feeding = formula feeding. UNICEF should know
better, but James Grants putting BREASTFEEDING as a priority has long been
watered down to the point that breastfeeding is now merely a footnote if it
appears at all.
Best, Susan Burger
************************
To whom it may concern:
First, I applaud your bringing to light the problem of follow on formulas.
I find there is too little information for parents about the hazards of
infant formulas and the misleading marketing. I would also recommend that
you add information about the risks of powdered formula and link to the
World Health Organization recommendations for mixing the powders. These can
be lethal -- especially during natural disasters where water and sanitation
systems are disrupted. Parents should be advised of the risks.
Second, having worked in international public health nutrition for decades
and now working as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, I
must speak up about misleading information on your website. Bottle feeding
is not the same as formula feeding. There are many alternatives for bottle
feeding before you get to formula including mothers own milk, human donor
milk from nonprofit milk banks, human milk from for profit milk banks, and
milk sharing. If you are going to put up information about bottle feeding,
you should ALSO put up information about the benefits and risks of all the
alternatives. Or.... if that is too challenging, change your title to
FORMULA FEEDING rather than bottle feeding. By the way, formula feeding can
also occur via cup (which is an excellent alternative during emergencies
when you cannot clean a bottle properly), via a tube on a finger, via a tube
on the breast, via a syringe, via a dropper, and via a spoon.
I was a bit surprised that a UNICEF office wasn't more proactive about
providing COMPLETE information to parents -- while pleased that at least
there was some attempt to make parents aware of the dangers of one of a long
list of deceptive marketing tactics by the formula industry.
Sincerely,
Susan E. Burger, MHS, PhD, IBCLC
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