>Julie writes, "As a former home-visiting nurse to parents of
>newborns, I can testify that giving a free can or two of formula at
>each visit was a large part of my function. Mind you, if this
>wasn't done, many parents wouldn't accept services, and some of
>these babies wouldn't have been fed...period."
>
>This is shocking. I should stress that I'm only citing Julie's
>words as just one more example of similar statements I've heard to
>defend provision of free formula. Colleagues on both sides of the
>Atlantic have told me that if free formula wasn't available, then
>parents would feed their babies ordinary cow's milk, or coca cola,
>or almost any other unsuitable liquid - deliberately. Can it be
>true? Does this really happen??
I share your concerns, Pamela....and I too have heard the same
warnings. I have always been very sceptical - I am certain that some
parents would feed their babies anything because sadly, there are
always ignorant, abusive, non-caring parents as well as truly
inadequate ones or totally clueless ones, who mean well but who just
don't know about baby care. But whether free formula prevents this,
I really don't know.
Free formula cannot replace the sort of supportive, caring and
educational help with parenting the inadequate and the clueless need,
anyway...if someone is really giving their baby fizzy pop (UK word
for US soda) in a bottle, then they need a lot more than free
formula. If they are abusive enough not to feed their kid, then the
kid needs a lot more than free formula, too.
Free samples of formula are never acceptable (except in cases of dire
emergency). I could be persuaded that vouchers (like the UK Healthy
Start vouchers which are exchangable for a range of foods inc
formula) are necessary, if I was shown research that demonstrated
babies would not get fed at all without them, or would be given fizzy
pop.
I also remain (along with Jack Newman) unconvinced that ordinary cows
milk (boiled, diluted, sugared) is massively worse than formula,
anyway....but I think the formula manufacturers have won that
particular commercial battle now.
Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor
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