I RECEIVED (oops) an interesting phone call invitation the other day. It
seems a company (unnamed) has secured the services of a national marketing
company to conduct a series of focus groups on the topic (you guessed it!)
of breastfeeding and was seeking LCs.  At least one of the locals said they
had to be LCs in practice for at least 3 years. I was not asked that.

When I queried who was paying for this (they are offering $75 for about 1-2
hours of time), I was told by the first individual that he did not know.
When I pushed, he referred me to his supervisor. She said they had been
contacted by a company "representing the client." She refused to give me
further information.

When I said I had an ethical problem taking money from a formula company,
she immediately suggested I could "donate" the money to a worthy cause if I
wished. (Do you think she has heard this ethical problem line before?)

These are occurring in the Chicago area in mid-December. (I am not
attending because I will not be in the city on the day in question, but I
emphasized my ethnical difficulties to the marketing people to make a
point.)

HOWEVER, if anyone in the local area knows someone who IS going, I would
very much like to know what is asked and whether they would be amenable to
suggested "planted" questions to raise.  Have I any takers?  Please e-mail
me privately.

Perhaps these same people would be willing to share wtih all of LACTNET
what happened at that meeting.




Def. of LC service: "We are all faced with a series of great opportunities
brilliantly disguised as impossible situations."
Kathleen G. Auerbach,PhD, IBCLC (Homewood, IL)- [log in to unmask]
WEB PAGE: http://www.mcs.com/~auerbach/lactation.html