FROM: Sturgess, Frances Coulter
TO:[log in to unmask]
CC:[log in to unmask]
SUBJECT: Jamie/pregnancy/breastfeeding
DATE: 03-17-97   00:39 EST
PRIORITY:


Liz--here is my letter to [log in to unmask] it helps.  Now, if we could get
700 people to write to PBS/their local channels about Childrens TV, wouldnt
that get their attention? ;'>



Been hearing good things about this show and would like to join other health
professionals in pointing out an opportunity to do a public service and
attract some attention at the same time. Perhaps you already know the State of
Calif Health Dept issued a report in January laying out the significance of
breastfeeding as a public health issue, not merely a matter of personal
choice/convenience as compared to the poorer outcomes increasingly associated
with artificial baby milk.  There are also  bills under consideration in the
California State legislature and in several other states regarding protection
of a womans right to breastfeed in a public place without being cited for
indecent exposure.

Since Jamie is pregnant, this is a good chance to explore these issues, in her
prenatal education and in her postpartum experience.  Breastfeeding is linked
to better health for mom and the baby (and if you have ever experienced caring
for an unhappy infant with an ear infection I am sure you would want to do
*anything* to keep it from happening again) and some advantage in IQ has been
documented for preemies fed breast milk, among other things.  However many
women find support limited, particularly when they need to go back to work,
and the makers of artificial milks do their lucrative best to make us all
believe the two are of equal value, when they are not.  After all, they have a
product to sell.  People who feel guilty about leaving the baby at all feel
even worse if they cannot or do not breastfeed, and of course would prefer
that what manufacturers say would be true, though it is not--and also
discourage others from trying.  The possibilities for plot and dialogue and
controversy are endless.

If for some reason you cannot find a local lactation consultant to advise you
on this, there are a lot of us out here who would be happy to find you a
connection.

Sincerely, Frances Coulter Sturgess, MPH RD
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