I have been in communication with Elisa Murray, the Communications Director
for the PBDE study released today, that is hitting the media all over. She
says:
"I'm the communications director for Northwest Environment Watch, a
Seattle research center. For the past year, we have been working on a
project to monitor pollution in people, and next week-on Wednesday,
September 29--we'll publish results on levels of PBDEs, flame
retardants, in the breastmilk of 40 women in the Pacific Northwest,
including 10 from
British Columbia.
We'll be doing outreach to the media and policymakers and hope to get
some attention to the need for the a ban on PBDEs in Canada. We also
want to work as hard as possible to encourage women to continue
breastfeeding,
by pointing out that the study is about body burdens, not breastfeeding;
and reinforcing the research that breastfeeding is the healthiest choice for
moms and babies.
When we released a similar report early in 2004, we worked closely
with breastfeeding advocates in Washington to get the messaging right
and alert the community.
I'm hoping that you can provide some guidance on alerting the BC
breastfeeding community about the report and answering their concerns.
Perhaps you or another expert might be willing to serve as a media
contact for the report to reinforce the breastfeeding message in BC?
On our site, please note that we have a number of resources and links
about breastfeeding:
http://www.northwestwatch.org/pollution/breastfeeding.asp
Please encourage anyone in your network to contact me with any questions.
[she can email a copy of the press release, and there is prepared sheet of
"breastfeeding talking points"]
Also, I encourage you or others in your network to write letters to the
editor of the Canadian publications in which articles about the study
appeared--especially those that clouded important messages about
breastfeeding and what it means to test breast milk (as a number of them
did). We're working on such a letter right now that I will send to you for
your review.
Best,
- Elisa Murray
Elisa Murray
Communications Director
Northwest Environment Watch
1402 Third Ave., Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98101
206-447-1880 x111
www.northwestwatch.org
-------------
Janice again.
Media coverage in Canada includes:
The Glove and Mail:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040929/HMIL
K29/TPHealth/
Breast milk awash in chemicals
Canada AM (CTV)
http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/AMdefault.html
How safe is breast milk?
A good reference in response to this is:
Background Document:
Towards Healthy Environments for Children: Frequently asked questions about
breastfeeding in a contaminated environment
http://www.posted.ca/Towards%20Healthy%20Environments%20for%20Children.pdf
Written by Penny van Esterik (York University, Toronto)
Joint Statement of the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA),
International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), La Leche League
International (LLLI), National Network on Environments and Women's Health
Canada, Chemical Reaction Belgium, and Initiativ Liewensutank Luxembourg
Janice Reynolds
listowner
Breastfeeding Canada News
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/bfcanadanews/.
You can access all the materials for the report at this Web site:
www.northwestwatch/toxics
userid: toxics
password: september
A word from the Study authors:
I'm the communications director for Northwest Environment Watch, a
Seattle research center. For the past year, we have been working on a
project to monitor pollution in people, and next week-on Wednesday,
September 29--we'll publish results on levels of PBDEs, flame
retardants, in the breastmilk of 40 women in the Pacific Northwest,
including 10 from
British Columbia.
We'll be doing outreach to the media and policymakers and hope to get
some attention to the need for the a ban on PBDEs in Canada. We also
want to work as hard as possible to encourage women to continue
breastfeeding,
by pointing out that the study is about body burdens, not breastfeeding;
and reinforcing the research that breastfeeding is the healthiest choice for
moms and babies.
When we released a similar report early in 2004, we worked closely
with breastfeeding advocates in Washington to get the messaging right
and alert the community.
I'm hoping that you can provide some guidance on alerting the BC
breastfeeding community about the report and answering their concerns.
Perhaps you or another expert might be willing to serve as a media
contact for the report to reinforce the breastfeeding message in BC?
On our site, please note that we have a number of resources and links
about breastfeeding:
http://www.northwestwatch.org/pollution/breastfeeding.asp
Thanks in advance for looking this over,
Elisa Murray
Communications Director
Northwest Environment Watch
1402 Third Ave., Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98101
206-447-1880 x111
www.northwestwatch.org
----- Original Message -----
From: "Laura A. Mundt" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 1:38 PM
Subject: breastfeeding in the news
> I was just watching the local news (NBC affiliate in Portland, OR)
> and they ran a story on the presence flame retardant chemicals in
> breastmilk. I was very pleasantly surprised by the story. They
> actually addressed the fact that health effects studies done on these
> chemicals have been done on MICE and they stressed that it was still
> important for moms to breastfeed. Plus they showed several lovely
> images of happy moms and babies breastfeeding, including some of the
> moms who participated in a regional study on toxins in breastmilk and
> who were present at the recent press conference. I sent the news
> station a nice email, thanking them for the decent story and
> requesting that they show the breastfeeding campaign PSAs, since I
> have yet to see any of them in Oregon.
>
> And, continuing the thread of breastfeeding on television...last
> week, on the Ellen Degeneres show, she talked about all of the
> celebrity moms who were at the Emmy Awards, how they all told her
> they loved watching her show, etc. The last thing she said in this
> part of her monologue was, "then all the moms had to leave to go
> pump." There was light laughter in the audience and I'm guessing
> only about half of them figured out what she was talking about. I
> immediately pictured all of these celebrities walking around the red
> carpet with their pump "briefcases" and "backpacks"!
>
> Laura Mundt, ICCE
> Portland, OR
>
> PS If you are in the Portland, OR area, kgw is supposed to run more
> of the story in the 5 pm newscast.
>
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