Some people have been wondering where Ross Labs gets their list of mothers
to whom they send surveys on infant feeding practices.  Ross Laboratories
obtains the list of mothers to survey from a variety of sources.

According to their 1997 study, The Resurgence of Breastfeeding in the United
States by Alan S. Ryan published in Pediatrics at
http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/99/4/e12 , "Questionnaires were
mailed to a representative sample of mothers when their infants were 6
months old. The sample was drawn from a list of births that represented 80%
to 85% of all new mothers in the United States. The list included names from
hospital sources, county records of birth registrations, photography and
diaper services, entrepreneurial sources, and newspapers. Mothers were asked
to recall the type of milk fed to their infants immediately after birth, in
the hospital, and during each of the first 6 months of life. The list
included all commercial infant formulas, human milk, cow milk, and milk from
other sources (eg, goat and evaporated). Each mother was also asked to
answer questions describing her sociodemographic status. To maintain
consistency, the RLMS questionnaire has not changed markedly over time; the
list of infant formulas is updated as new formulas are introduced into the
marketplace."  This study notes the response rate is consistently in the
range of 50% ± 5% which would be considered a good response rate for a
mailed questionnaire, especially one which is somewhat difficult to read
such as this one.

It amazes me that the Ross Labs Mothers Survey is really the only
nationwide, longitudinal study of breastfeeding initiation and duration
rates in the United States.  I strongly believe that these statistics should
be collected by an impartial third party, not a formula manufacturer.

Sara Dodder Furr, breastfeeding advocate and volunteer
Lincoln, Nebraska USA

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