Happy New Year everyone!
I am hoping that this year will be the year of "skin-to-skin or kangaroo
birth care" for the babies that I deal with at my hospital. Fewer difficulties
with latching and breastfeeding will hopefully be the result!
Thought this article from the APHA was a nice validation for our efforts and
success in getting rid of the formula discharge "gift" bags at my hospital,
Berkshire Medical Center, in Pittsfield, MA.
_Newswise Medical News | February 2008 AJPH Highlights: Achieving Social
Justice Through Public Health Practice_
(http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/536462/)
Now for the vent...
To demonstrate how pervasive the formula industry is, and how much they have
co-opted health care professionals (and the maternity units they work in) to
do their marketing, I offer the following true story:
I returned from my vacation to Puerto Rico to find that almost all of the
"It's My Birthday, Give Me a Hug" mousepads from the Massachusetts Breastfeeding
Coalition (they promote skin-to-skin contact), were gone from around the
nurses' station and replaced with shiny new Enfamil ones. I personally bought
the ones from the Mass Breastfeeding Coalition last year to replace the
Enfamil advertising mousepads, so they were fairly new and in pretty good
condition. Somehow, two of them which are in the nursery anteroom got missed. Guess
what? The formula salesman from Mead Johnson had been to our unit to give an
"inservice with free lunch" while I was away. Hmm... Good timing on his part.
I was not pleased that we were once again doing formula marketing for
Enfamil and told my manager about it. She has had other and more important
pressing issues to deal with in the last few weeks, but she has promised to get to
the bottom of this. Geez, I hope that they weren't just thrown away. So, some
food for thought... if, at your facility or agency, you are using sticky
notes, pens, or growth charts or whatever from the formula companies, you are
marketing their product. I know I've said it before, but I will say it again, I
will not be an unpaid (or paid) marketer for them, and I hope that you will
not be also.
You can go to the website: _http://www.nofreelunch.org/_
(http://www.nofreelunch.org/) for more info on this.
Mary-Jane, breastfeeding advocate
"what you permit, you promote"
Mary-Jane Sackett, RN, BSN, IBCLC, RLC, CCE
Lactation Program Coordinator
Berkshire Medical Center, Pittsfield, MA, USA
**************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.
http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489
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