Sorry I'm a little late on replying on this Heather - I've been offline 
for a few days as my phone line went down, taking my internet connection 
with it (and my car broke down too, but that's just me whinging...).

As I've said to some of your classmates over the past few week or so - 
you may want to widen out your research past all the excellent medical 
based references you've no doubt been getting.  Lactation matters are 
often discussed as a medical area, without always taking on board the 
_wider_ cultural and media issues.  For instance, is you turn what 
you've presented here on its head... the question you might be looking 
at is "How much formula advertising and promotion do these groups see?" 
and "For how long has this group been subjected to formula advertising 
and promotion?"

In the West, (a general term I usually hate, but one which suffice for 
now) there has been a long history of formula promotion.  Part of that 
history has been about consistently presenting formula as 'more hygenic' 
and 'more scientific' than human milk.  The large costs of the product 
has also been traditionally part of its appeal, especially in working 
class cultures.  The fact that's it's expensive, means it's both 'good' 
and and also'aspirational'.  In many Western working class cultures, 
buying formula was a sign of wealth - and breastfeeding a sign of 
poverty.  Rather than looking at the 'education' of those Western 
cultures in terms of the breastfeeding, perhaps looking at how often 
they've seen formula upheld as a wonderful product, may reveal more 
answers.  Especially when you can track immigrant groups who've not been 
so exposed to formula marketeering, and who traditionally breastfeed: 
breastfeeding rates drop as they are exposed to more and more 
marketeering.  After all, they are now doing what the educated well off 
people do: it's part of the aspirational advertising.  So it may be less 
of a question about cultural differences and breastfeeding, and more a 
question of media influence on those cultures, and breastfeeding.

It's always easy to forget the billions of dollars spent every year on 
formula marketeering, and instead try and puzzle out why the health 
education appears to have different uptakes.  Understanding is usually 
to be found on the formula marketeering side.  A good starting place on 
this would be "The Politics of Breastfeeding" by Gabrielle Palmer.  
There is also much up to date information on the impact of formula 
marketeering on breastfeedings rates on the Baby Milk Action site:  
http://www.babymilkaction.org/index.html  and you'll find a highly 
effective piece of journalism on the effects of such marketeering on 
cultures that had been breastfeeding before the ad execs came to town 
on  http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,2079757,00.html

Morgan Gallagher

Heather Young wrote:
> I question then, how can this be the case?  What makes these minority 
> cultures such advocates for breastfeeding?  Are there certain cultural 
> differences regarding breastfeeding that I should be aware of as I enter the 
> nursing field?  I know that when women of certain cultures are postpartum, 
> they have certain hot/cold preferences.  Do different cultures have specific 
> views, practices when it comes to breastfeeding? 
> Thank you in advance for your feedback.
> Heather Young, SNITCC
>   

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