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Date: | Tue, 5 Dec 2006 07:42:18 EST |
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When NABA completed its second round of Code monitoring this fall we found
that in the US, formula salesmen usually have unlimited access to the maternity
unit. Most do not follow the hospital's vendor policy of making an
appointment for a specific purpose and registering with the purchasing department,
etc. They just show up with food, trinkets, and games to carefully court the
nurses into using, defending, and peddling their products. They do not have
contact with patients as they simply get the nurses and physicians to sell their
formula for them. The Ban the Bags campaign has shown that nurses are the
single most difficult barrier to surpass when a hospital wishes to eliminate
discharge bags. Many formula salespeople have a quota to meet, whereby a certain
number of babies from the hospitals that they cover must be fed formula one
way or another. Food is a way to break down the barriers between the
professionals and the salesmen. People will look more kindly upon the salesmen and
come away with closer ties to that person no matter what the salesman is saying
or selling. This is why maternity units should never allow these people to
provide food. We also found that management in many hospitals refuses to act
in an ethical manner and within corporate compliance when it comes to formula
salesmen. These salespeople have ingratiated themselves into the unit culture
to the point where some nurses and physicians cannot distinguish between
salespeople as vendors or sales people as part of the health care team. The
salesmen are treated as if they have a say in what and how babies are fed. Most
of the salespeople are hired for their persuasive abilities not because they
have any scientific training.
Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC
Weston, MA
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