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??

There are two pre-conditions for bottle-feeding;  formula has to be 
both easily accessible and socially acceptable.  It seems to me that 
giving free formula fulfils both those criteria.  If a hospital or a 
department of health gives free formula to mothers (in or out of the 
maternity setting) it puts a seal of endorsement on its use.  At some 
level, every mother who uses the freebies must think to herself that 
bottle-feeding _must_ be OK, or the government/authority/health 
institution wouldn't be giving it to her baby.

What I'd like to know is if anyone has any research which 
demonstrates that parents/mothers in industrialized countries will 
actually starve their babies, or feed them orange squash or coke (or 
whatever) if they don't receive formula hand-outs.

Pamela Morrison IBCLC
Rustington, England 

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