Be wary of doing TOO good of a job promoting breastfeeding...

Imagine our surprise and shock in the midst of our major WIC breastfeeding
campaign to open the front page of the "Southern Style" section of the
Jackson, MS "Clarion Ledger" (distributed statewide) to see a 6x8 full color
picture of a mother bottle feeding her infant, AND an  additional full color
picture of a can of Similac, with the headline, "Next best thing?" Subhead
reads, "For those who just can't breast-feed, new baby formula claims to be
closer than ever to mother's milk."  It was provided to the Clarion-Ledger by
a freelance writer named Gloria Butler Baldwin.

The article is way too long to reprint here...if you are interested in the
entire thing, e-mail me.

Just a few "tidbits" from the article...
        *Quotes from a mom who weaned her 4-week-old baby to formula include
"I quit breast-feeding because I was going back to work and I just couldn't
do it" and "Plus, I wasn't comfortable breast-feeding in public, like some
are, and it was difficult to go anywhere."  (interesting that these are the 2
major barriers our campaign is addressing...)
        *"Improved Similac with Iron, the mineral considered the culprit of
colic, is replacing the original Similac with a special combination of
ingredients.  A new fat blend provides fat and calcium absorption simlilar to
that of the bresat-fed infant and was shown to support visual, mental and
psychomotor development.  A unique protein system provides plasma-essential
amino acid levels, similar to those of the breastfed infant that promotes
better tolerance.  And it contains nucleotides, compounds that are found
naturally in breast milk."
        *Quotes by a nurse..."Most mothers now work and breast-feeding is too
inconvenient.  The mother has to be there all of the time.  No one else can
feed the baby."
        *A long list of disadvantages of breastfeeding, including:
                --"The quality and quantity of the mother's diet can affect
the quality and quantity of breast milk"
                --"If a nursing mother takes certain medications or abuses
drugs, it will affect the baby"
                --"Another downside to breast-feeding is now knowing how much
milk your baby drank"
                --"With formula, babies tend to sleep longer since it takes
longer to digest."
                --"It is also easier to keep track of how much a baby eats,
and is more convenient, especially when in public."
                --"Excessive alcohol can affect the baby and reduce milk
production, as can the estrogen in some oral contraceptives."
                --"Excessive caffeine makes babies jittery and restless."

        The article ends with: "According to a report by Ross Products, while
other formulas with iron and nucleotides, the building blocks of DNA and RNA,
exist, the improved Similac with Iron is the only U.S. infant formula with
levels and ratios patterned after breast milk."

Free advertising for Ross?  Was the timing a coincidence?  You decide...

Cathy Carothers, IBCLC
State WIC Breastfeeding Coordinator
Mississippi