Fellow Lactnetters.  Just thought I'd share my letter to the NY Daily News...

March 10, 1997


Managing Editor
NY DAILY NEWS
450 W. 33d St.
New York, NY  10001

Dear Sir/Madam:

     I was appalled by the article "Formula for Success" by Lenore Skenazy
that appeared in your paper approximately two weeks ago.  I was wondering if
a formula company paid for it?  It’s truly a shame that the NY Daily News
cannot provide its readers with accurate health information.  Instead you
would rather tote the benefits of formula feeding, which is constantly
confirmed as inferior to breastmilk in many scientific studies.

     Most women have difficulty with breastfeeding because of the abundant
lack of information out there, and if more women sought professional help
instead of sitting at home trying to read a manual—they wouldn’t cry.  By the
way, nipples don’t toughen up.  This article is totally slanted and full of
information that only hurts the health of the population you are serving.
 Maybe next time you might check with a Lactation Consultant before you run
erroneous information about breastfeeding again?

     Perhaps you could run an article about the hazards of bottle feeding?
 Artificially fed babies are 4 times more likely to have ear infections.
Formula fed babies have more ill visits to the pediatrician, they enter the
hospital more frequently in the first year, and they are 8 times more likely
to die of  SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).  On the contrary,
breastfeeding reduces the risks of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and
osteoporosis for the mother.  There is no shame in breastfeeding.  It CLEARLY
saves babies lives, and the lives of their mothers!

     Please educate the public.  Skenazy’s article is a sham.

                                                          Sincerely,


                                                        Debbie Albert, Ph.D., IBCLC*

*International Board Certified Lactation Consultant