The concerns that I have about ABM manufacturing companies producing and distributing breastfeeding materials are multiple, not the least of which is the very complexity and subtlety of the issues. The ABM companies are well aware, through constant marketing research easily paid for with the substantial profits generated by this industry, that the mother WHO BREASTFEEDS is the primary purchaser of their products!! Not only have these women made a greater commitment to their infants' nutrition by breastfeeding, but when the breastfeeding relationship *fails* for whatever reason - and those of you reading this are more than well aware of the low statistics on exclusive breastfeeding until cup/table food introduction - these mothers use ABM products, they use them exclusively (no colas, teas, kool-aid drinks, etc.), and they use them for the whole of the infant's first year. These women are the key targets of the ABM advertizing campaigns. All one has to do is sit through a semester or two of a marketing class at the graduate level to understand the sophistication with which these products are marketed. There is a whole aspect of the marketing discipline that interfaces with the psychology field to further their goal - which is to CREATE A NEED for the products (not to fill an existing need, as so many of the general public think). Even if the breastfeeding materials produced by these companies were of the highest caliber, a provider of health care should use extreme caution. Lets be very clear who is a slasesperson and who is a health care professional. This industry generates substantial profits, not only in the direct sale of the products to parents/hospitals (were hospital to purchase their supplies!!)/WIC in the US, etc., but additionally through the sale of expensive pharmaceuticals needed to combat many of the illnesses caused and exacerbated by an ABM diet. Prevention and good nutrition advocacy will never produce even a large fraction of these dollars. And unfortunately in a society that is taught consumerism first: to work for the money to buy what we need, we will continue to see parents looking to *purchase* the answer to their problems, rather than ones who are ready to re-evaluate their expectations and re-adapt their lifestyles to the needs of an infant (I do recognize and applaud all those wonderful, motivated mothers who work tirelessly to overcome breastfeeding problems). These are just a few of the concerns about the issue of ABM companies marketing strategies... and I know with the length of these digests you don't want me to get started... Jeanine Klaus, MS, IBCLC and LLLL Oakville, Ontario recovering from a long flight home from a most stimulating breastfeeding conference held at Grant McEwan College in Edmonton, Alberta (as an American I think that those in the Northwest US missed a golden opportunity, with the current exchange rate, to attend a great conference!)