Heather you say:

>Breastfeeding is a right, of a mother and baby. It is every mother's right
to choose to do it, and to expect the social and emotional and financial
support she needs in order to make it happy. We don't have to prove it's
'better' - it's not a consumer product, but a part of a relationship which
we have a right to.<

I agree with you. But the situation in the world today is that we have the
challenge of 'proving' not that breastmilk is better, but that it is safe.
The UK government official policy -- same in US -- is to discourage or even
stop women who have tested HIV+ from breastfeeding.  The language of the UK
government guidance to health professionals is about 'women who insist on
breastfeeding' and 'women who cannot avoid breastfeeding'.

WHO/UNICEF discuss the effects of 'spillover' if formula is promoted for
women who are HIV+ -- spillover is a leaking fo the specific message from
women who are that group to wider society.  I believe that this is a huge
concern, not just in developing nations.

Numico and their product (notice Valerie found that it is recommended for
HIV??) is one prong of the companies.  Fostering distrust of breastmilk --
and where better than in the area of HIV??-- is another.

Has everyone noticed the tiny Minerva item in the BMJ which commented on the
Ndauti study in March JAMA?  Seen the concluding sentence?  "only complete
avoidance of breast feeding will reduce the risk."  (If you have read the
paper, you will know that this conclusion is not justified by the JAMA
results).

It is going to be hard to stay on the ground of the human relationship, when
the opposition has defined the debate not as one of competing health gains
but as a matter of restricting the transfer of a poisoned body fluid.

Here's hoping that Anna Coutsoudis's further results are published soon and
that the BMJ finally reports on *them*.

Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter, BfN, UK

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