One of the issues Carol mentioned is support for working mothers.

This morning I received copies of some of the information Nestle is
dstributing in the UK.  Recently Nestle has changed its policy of debating
the issues of their promotion of breastmilk substitutes in public, and there
have been a number of debates at UK universities -- typically via the
Student Union.  [Anecdotally this has been reported to me as due to their
concern at the lack of quality graduates applying to nestle uk, but who
knows?].  I have been sent the stuff as I may find myself in such a debate
on behalf of Baby Milk Action, the UK's IBFAN group.

I was interested to see how much the issue of women returning to work and
'having', therefore, to use formula, in the developing world, is used in
this Nestle literature.  The woman who does many of the debates is
originally from Sri Lanka and talks, in the booklet I was sent, about her
own need to give formula when she returned to work.

I am not denigrated the serious issues arrising from the lack of protection
women have from the pressures of returning to work (some the result of dire
economic circumstances, others the result of countries enamoured with free
enterprise who see no need to ameliorate the excesses of company
exploitation of workers).  However, to enter this arena only at the level of
debating strategies for the individual woman to express and bottle feed /
combine breastfeeding and formula feeding / juggle childcare arrangements
is, imo, crucially to miss our role. Of course we may each do these things,
but collectively we should be doing more in terms of advocating different
legislation and a different cultural climate in which society as a whole is
encouraged to view the welfare of infants, and their need to be with their
mothers, whether they are breastfeeding or not, and their (separate, but
related) need for exclusive breastfeeding for about 6 months and sustained
breastfeeding for 2 years, as a responsibility of the whole of society to
foster and PAY FOR.

OK.  I have now lobbed off a couple of long posts on this, while most of you
(in North America) are probably still asleep.  I will try to restrain myslef
and let someone else get a word in!!

Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter, BfN, UK

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