On Wed, 2003-02-05 at 22:09, Kathleen Bruce wrote: > I loved this one, since it describes the Texas public health ad ...from > the National Transportation Safety board, where the parent who doesn't > use a carseat goes to hell. I agree, it's a great letter. Unfortunately, she had a typo in it! 3rd paragraph, 4th sentence should read "They should know that their child may have a lower IQ if bottle-fed than if breastfed." The whole thing, as it should have read, is below. regards, Beth Johnson perinatal educator, pp doula > -----Original Message----- > From: Lactation Information and Discussion > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kathy Dettwyler > Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 1998 12:29 PM > Subject: My note to the doctor about guilt > > Dear Dr. Robert Johnson, I am an anthropologist who does research on breastfeeding and weaning practices, both cross-culturally and in evolutionary perspective. I speak often at lactation-related conferences and at universities. I have an entire presentation I do on the issue of guilt and breastfeeding, titled "Promoting Breastfeeding, Promoting Guilt?". I have a written version that I would be happy to send you, if you send me your street address. I understand your concerns about "bashing" parents over the head and turning them off to the information you are trying to convey, whether about car seats, immunizations, or breastfeeding. The problem I see with the current state of affairs with ob/gyns and pediatricians is that they actually *withhold* information from parents about the risks of formula-feeding for fear of making parents feel guilty when they choose not to breastfeed. I think parents should have accurate and complete information about the consequences of their infant feeding choices, and then it should be up to them to choose how to feed their babies. They should know that formula increases their child's lifelong risk of many diseases, including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and breast cancer. They should know that formula-use increases the mother's risk of breast cancer. They should know that their child may have a lower IQ if [bottle-fed] than if [breastfed]. If they feel guilty for choosing to formula-feed, after having been given this information, that would seem to be an appropriate emotion. Many public health campaigns actively and deliberately use guilt to compel people to behave in ways that are good for them. Physicians often use guilt to encourage women not to smoke or drink or use illegal drugs during pregnancy, and to have their children immunized. My personal favorite is "Larry's Lament," a public service announcement for the radio from the National Transportation Safety Board in which Larry (one of the crash-test dummies) doesn't put his child in a car seat one time, they have an accident, the child dies, and Larry goes to hell. Another is the "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk" campaign. There are also guilt ads for mammograms, prostate cancer screening, and learning CPR (Red Cross' "What kind of a wife just stands there while her husband has a heart attack?"). I think physicians need to use whatever approach they feel will work best with the particular patient they are dealing with -- some patients respond better to direct orders, others to education, others to incentives. But it is never acceptable to tell parents that there are no risks from formula use, that the benefits of breastfeeding "aren't that significant" or cease after a certain length of time, and that formula is "just as good as" breast milk. Physicians should always tell parents the truth about the consequences of their choices. In addition, physicians should support parents in their decision to breastfeed, and be knowledgeable about how to handle problems, or be able to refer patients with breastfeeding problems to board-certified lactation consultants. I hope you will send me your street address so I can send you a copy of my talk on guilt. > >Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D. > >Associate Professor of Anthropology and Nutrition > >Texas A&M University BIG TWELVE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS!!! > >http://www.prairienet.org/laleche/dettwyler.html > >mailto:[log in to unmask] > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > ---- > ------- > Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D. email: > [log in to unmask] > Anthropology Department phone: (409) > 845-5256 > Texas A&M University fax: (409) > 845-4070 > College Station, TX 77843-4352 > http://www.prairienet.org/laleche/dettwyler.html *********************************************** 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(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html