I hear Pat's and Laura's and others' concerns about the WIC moms who won't
breastfeed and would give Kool-Aid, watered down cow's milk, root beer,
you-name-it, on the rationale that they want their bodies back, can't be
bothered with baby-care, have "rights" about their breasts, etc.  Yet you
also wrote about other mothers - 'the "I'll pump and put it in a bottle"
type.  More of the getting my body back thing?  Or is BFing too intimate?
Wonder what her sex life is like?  Hx of abuse?  It is so complex.".

I agree.  There may be an inter-relationship and I have certainly worked
with moms who breastmilk-by-bottle-feed - I encourage and applaud them all
the way.  What I have a problem with is *the State* tapping into this and
*enabling* mothers to feed formula - just giving it away.  Babies born into
impoverished conditions are the very ones who most need the protective
components of breastfeeding and breastmilk.  I also wonder how poor these
mothers really are - in Zimbabwe at the moment we are trying to decide on
just what pre-requisites should exist for formula feeding to be "safe", and
it's thought that before we even consider "recommending" formula a mother
should have piped water, a refrigerator and a stove. If they have these
things then they would be "rich" enough to safely formula-feed.  If not,
then we need to continue to promote breastfeeding. Do the "poor" mothers in
the WIC program have these things? If not, then formula feeding is not safe.
If so, then by our standards, they are *not* so poor, and if not so poor
then perhaps they can take financial responsibility for their choices of
what to feed their babies.

I think I am the one Laura mentioned who wrote the story of the mother who
was ambivalent about breastfeeding but decided to "just get on with it" in
the middle of the 2nd or 3rd night of the baby's life because there was
simply no breastmilk-substitute available for her healthy, full-term baby in
this particular hospital and she didn't want her baby to starve. An example
of a mother who had no formula, knew the value of breastfeeding, and decided
*not* to feed the baby tap-water, or orange squash.

It's been said that in order for formula feeding to take place it has to be
(a) easily available and (b) socially acceptable.   Over 99% of women are
physically capable of producing enough breastmilk to feed a baby, and the
prostitute who leaves the baby with granny, or the teenager who wants to
reclaim her breasts is just as capable of expressing or pumping her milk as
she is of making a choice to let the baby starve.  The mothers described who
threaten to just feed the baby something else if they don't get the free
formula are using intimidation.  Seriously, if we just turned round and said
"So?? - it's *your* baby - *you* can make that choice", then, as Kathy says,
MAYBE a few of the babies would die (but then again, maybe the mothers would
be given an opportunity to exercise an important choice for the very first
time ..) However, ultimately the health of millions of babies would be
enhanced.  Word would get out - Moms would get the message within a week!

Pamela Morrison IBCLC, Zimbabwe (still feeling sensitive about free formula)
mailto:[log in to unmask]

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html