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Subject:
From:
Nina Berry <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 19 May 2006 13:50:25 +1000
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Hi all
I suppose I should not have been surprised to read that those with a
financial interest in breastmilk substitutes watch LACTNET but I was.  

If the manufacturers of breastmilk substitutes are concerned primarily with
engendering brand loyalty amongst mothers who choose not to breastfeed (as
they occasionally claim) - and not with influencing their choice to
breastfeed or not - why would the conversations that take place on lactnet
be of any interest to them anyway???  By monitoring this list they declare
that they are in competition with breastfeeding and aim to reduce
breastfeeding rates.  If a company that makes meds for cardiac patients
actively sought to increase their market by encouraging people to overeat
and remain sedentary the outcry would be heard in every corner of the
developed world.  

I read with interest Anna Greenberg's defense of the research she did and
the IFC's press release.  I am sure that the work she did rigorously
addressed the research question that the IFC provided her.  And therein lies
the problem.  Science is not objective.  We have to examine the questions we
ask before attempting to answer them.  We have look at the ideological
assumptions they contain and a good way to flush these out is to ask a very
old question - 'cui bono?' (Who profits?).  The IFC has much to gain in
finding support for their efforts to provide free samples of their products
to mothers.   The members of the IFC want to provide samples to mothers in
an effort to increase sales of breastmilk substitutes.  Increased sales
necessarily mean decreased breastfeeding rates. I wonder if it has occurred
to Ms Greenberg that she and her firm have been used.  Her company's
reputation has been sullied by its (albeit luctrative) relationship with the
IFC.

To illustrate the point, in years gone by much rigourous scientific research
was directed at answering the question, 'What makes non-caucasion persons
inferior?'. See the assumption?   Bad question equals bad science.

The IFC commissioned research found that mothers do not think that their
infant feeding decisions are influenced by marketing.  Yet the IFC members
continue to engage in these practices and fight hard for the right to do so.
Seems to me that they have some other, perhaps unpublished, research that
suggests that although mothers do not believe they are influenced, in fact,
they are.  I wonder if Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research would like address
a different question. Rather than asking mothers if they believe they are
influenced by IFC member's aggressive marketing, perhaps they could ask,
"Are mothers, in fact, influenced?" This would mean examining the feeding
behaviour of mothers who have been subject to this marketing and compare it
with a control group who are not subject to such marketing. (They may need
to fly to PNG where such marketing is proscribed by legislation to find such
a group.)
 
Nina Berry BA/Bed(Hons) Dip Arts(Phil)
Breastfeeding Counsellor
PhD Candidate - "Ethical Issues in the marketing of 'Toddler Milks'"

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