Our area is being saturated with Ross reps out peddleling (sp?) their "new " formula.  I know this news was on the Lactnet a while ago, but the solution to the problem of what to say to mothers who ask us what they should use, was not discussed.    Some health professionals are really believing what they are told about how wonderful the NEW Similac is.  The Ross rep gives all kinds of references.
Do you think we, on the LACTNET, can come to some conclusions on the real story of this formula.
Questions which we need to ask are:
How valid are these studies they are citing?  
How many years did they test it?  Whose babies did they use? Does this research meet the arduous test  of  scientific scutiny in terms of methods, time frames, etc?
What exactly are neucleotides?  Do long chain fatty acids stay that way when subjected to high heat processing?   Are these fatty acids exactly like the fatty acids in breast milk?  (Remembering from biochemistry that when you swap sides of an element on a molecule it functions in an entirely different way or does not function at all.)
I think pediatricians would be very interested in the answers to these questions also.   And, I think they have probably forgotten enough of their biochem class  to be befuddled by the reps quick talking sales pitch.   Really, we could sell the public snake oil, just like in the old days, when we use the Madison Ave. techniques.
Until then, I will turn these questions around to the mothers and other health professionals and ask them... Do you think it is safe to take something which they think is like Brmilk, but really haven't done extensive testing, or the long term studies that we would require of a drug or food item being introduced, and give this to your one and only little baby--unique in this whole world?
And of course, I love the LN comment about if your are trying to get to Hawaii, and you managed to get from NY to Nebraska, you are still not in Hawaii!!
So what do you think?   Can we have folks come up with their comments on the research articles that Ross is handing out?
        One more note:   WIC has contracts with the other ABM company in some states.  When mothers get the ad blitz, they are going to feel that WIC is giving them "second best"---like so many other things in life.   This will pro-duce a nightmare of requests for "noncontract" formula, which will cost WIC more ABM dollars and further limit the number of people WIC can serve.  It may also undermine the tremendous strides in breastfeeding support if they make it sound "just as good as"...