>Somehow we need to find a way to get this focused on the environment,=
 rather on breastfeeding, as they did in Europe.<

The small successes we have had here in the UK to focus away from breast
milk (eg watchdog campaign recently showed pregnant belly not baby at
breast) came from having a strong national IBFAN group.  My understanding is
that in North America the profile of your IBFAN groups is a lot lower than
Baby Milk Action is for us here -- where we work alongside them at different
levels.  For example there is a committee called Baby Feeding Law Group,
whose secretariat is BMA, and all four vol orgs are members, as is Unicef
BFI UK and the Royal Colleges of Nursing and Midwifery and at times some of
the other medical unions.  We meet quarterly to discuss the actions needed
to bring the UK law of 1995 up to the minimum provision of the WHO Code and
Resolutions.  Many volunteer breastfeeding support people and many health
professionals are members of BMA or turn to them for information on baby
feeding advocacy issues.  I hardly ever hear people on lactnet discussing
their involvement with their IBFAN groups nationally or in their states (are
there such groups?  If you don't meet face to face ever, how can you
build?).

For example at the Baby Milk Action AGM in January maybe a third to a half
of the people there were from breastfeeding organisations, others are active
cos they are in development or whatever.

In the UK we also often work in tandem with other European countries & their
IBFAN groups -- we have a different tradition of international co-operation
and the structure of the EU means that some legislation and activities are
wider than one country anyway -- I know this is a concept that Americans are
really unfamiliar with, but it can be so useful to know what others do and
to work together -- I recommend it.  It means that, since the environmental
groups also work together across Europe, that efforts can build
synergistically.

Disclaimer:  for the last three years I have been listed as an 'advisor' to
Baby Milk Action on the annual report -- totally honorary position
Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter,
BfN, The Breastfeeding Network
http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/


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