I just received the following post directly from the President of Lansinoh company in response to a mail I sent to her. I am very impressed with her letter and have permission to send it to the list, I think all of you will be equally impressed. It sounds like ALL Walmarts will at least be getting part of this new collection! I was in the baby section of my local Wal-Mart today and they were moving everything around, I saw a few of the new products but not the 4 foot section and couldn't find anyone to ask! Dear Cindy: I have received your email of 1/22 . I apologize for not responding sooner but I have been traveling. I will try and address your questions and apparent concerns about Wal-Mart's decision to dedicate a four foot section of products and information for Breastfeeding mothers in their Super Stores and a smaller selection of products in the rest of their stores. If you have any remaining questions or concerns, please feel free to call me directly. By way of introduction, I founded my company over 15 years ago to support Breastfeeding by offering mothers a safe, effective alternative to the highly cosmetized products that were available for the drying and cracking that can often accompany Breastfeeding. The results of out efforts is Lansinoh For Breastfeeding Mothers. Created by a patented process especially for Breastfeeding mothers, Lansinoh is the World's Purest Safest lanolin. Clinically proven to accelerate healing without irritation, Lansinoh is rapidly becoming the treatment of choice among health care professionals and experienced nursing mothers. I have been involved in and deeply committed to Breastfeeding since the birth of our first daughter in 1977. My husband, a child psychiatrist, has promoted the psychological and physiological benefits of Breastfeeding throughout his career. He now works with our company full time. Our company is still relatively small and we are all deeply committed to increasing the incidence of successful breastfeeding. One of our key employee has been a La Leche League Leader for amost 25 years and is an IBCLC who has written many articles and given many presentations about the prevention and proper management of sore nipples. I give you this background to reassure you that we took our assignment very seriously and have worked arduously to bring the best possible products to market. Many of the products in The Collection were developed by families like mine who found a need through their Breastfeeding experience and went on to develop a product to make Breastfeeding easier. There are 33 products in all ranging from a Breastfeeding library (11 books) to superior breast pads (both washable and disposable) to sleeping bras, Breastfeeding T-shirts, night shirts and camisoles as well as many other products that makes Breastfeeding easier and more comfortable. If you will provide me your address, I would be most pleased to send you a brochure that features each of the products in The Collection. Specific to your questions about breastpumps, rest assured that everyone at Lansinoh shares your concerns. We have included two breastpumps in our Collection, both are manual pumps and were chosen very carefully because of their long standing reputation for safety and effectiveness. We have included a piston style pump that has been in use for over 30 years and is most appropriate for relieving engorgement and for the mother who wishes to pump occasionally if she plans to be away from her baby during a feeding. The other pump we have included is the Ameda one hand manual pump. Again, this is a reliable pump that has been in use for many years. We specifically state in our insert that the piston pump is for the mother who needs to pump occasionally and is not suitable for the mother who needs to return to work. Additionally, even though we mention that the Ameda one hand pump can be converted to use with the Ameda Electric Pumps, we have made no attempt to offer a pump for the mother that has to return to work or will be away from her baby for extended periods of time and must therefore take special precaution to make sure her milk supply is maintained at sufficient levels. To further insure that the mother understands the nature and function of the pumps we offer, we have prominently displayed the following in a shaded box on our brochure inside the pumps that contain the following: If your baby is premature and not nursing, or if you are employed and wish to establish or maintain a full milk supply, we recommend the rental of a hospital grade electric double pump. I hope the above addresses your concerns and those of your colleagues. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me. Also, most of the products in The Lansinoh Breastfeeding Collection should be appearing at the store level in most Wal-Marts by now so you may wish to take a look for yourself. I believe it will become apparent that we have taken great care in putting this collection together. Many of the items are patented and have come from all over the country as well as around the world . We reflected on our own Breastfeeding experiences when selecting each product and included a product only if we felt that it had real utility for the Breastfeeding family. Coming now to your question about how Wal-Mart intends to educate the consumer, this will be done through the selection of books that will be offered and free brochures that will be distributed at the store level relative to the benefits of Breastfeeding for both mother and child. Additionally, there will be information on their new web site about the many benefits of Breastfeeding. The sheer visibility of Breastfeeding products in the Wal-Mart environment will introduce the possibility to many women who may never have considered Breastfeeding. Over 100,000 million people a week visit Wal-Mart stores. That is a staggering figure. Imagine how many women (perhaps on their way to the artificial feeding section) will stop and look at the four feet that has been dedicated to the woman who choses to feed her baby naturally. We at Lansinoh feel this will have a profound effect on the woman who may never have considered Breastfeeding and offer a much needed convenience for the woman who has already made that choice. I would be very open to any feedback you might have after you have had a chance to view The Lansinoh Collection. Sincerely, Resheda Hagen Resheda Hagen, President Lansinoh Laboratories 800-292-4794 [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask] P. S. As you mentioned your colleagues also had questions and concerns, please feel free to post this on Lactnet if you think it would be helpful. Cindy Curtis,RN,IBCLC mailto:[log in to unmask] http://www.erols.com/cindyrn *********************************************** 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