11-22-97 Back to Sleep P.O. Box 29111 Washington DC 20040 Back to Sleep Campaigners: Thank you for recommending breastfeeding as important in reducing the risk of SIDS in your Back to Sleep pamphlet. However, I must take issue with the way that it was presented. The other recommendations were stated very strongly, with words like "make sure…baby sleeps on a firm mattress," "no one should smoke…," and "you should not use alcohol or drugs during pregnancy…" Why then was the breastfeeding recommendation so wishy-washy? ( "If POSSIBLE, you should CONSIDER breastfeeding your baby. Breast milk HELPS to keep your baby healthy." ) [emphasis mine] I bet a pamphlet on preventing head injury would not say "if possible, consider having your child wear a bicycle helmet." Perhaps you did not want to make mothers feel guilty - that is the pat excuse given most of the time. Why are the breastfeeding statements the only ones that are so weakly stated? It would seem that in producing such a pamphlet, your goal would be to present the relevant facts in a compelling way, so that parents would follow through with the recommendations. Since there is overwhelming evidence about the superiority of breastfeeding and the very real hazards of artificial feeding, I feel you unfairly de-emphasized breastfeeding. Sincerely, Laurie Wheeler, RNC, MN, IBCLC Louisiana Breastfeeding MediaWatch Violet Louisiana USA