Dear, Dear Colleagues, I try not to offend any of you when I post. Sometimes it is hard to realize how words are received by another, especially if they are not face-to-face or at least on the phone. That happens all the time. I'm sure it has happened to most of us when we deal with pregnant and breastfeeding women. Let's try to avoid that with each other, and let's be respectful and civil. That may take extra effort when we become exasperated when it seems as if someone just doesn't get it. We need to keep communicating. Do not allow any company to create a rift in our ranks; that only helps the company to divide and conquer (as Marsha Walker stated). Now, for myself, I am fed up with Medela and its current antics. It does not care what it is doing to undermine breastfeeding, and in turn, to hurt children. We do NOT need Medela if it refuses to become CODE compliant; we can go to another pump company that is ethical in its advertising. If some LACTNETTERS cannot possibly do that, they can conduct themselves in a manner that does not violate the CODE. They can promote exclusive breastfeeding whenever possible; NO pumping or bottle feeding unless absolutely necessary. They can help with pumping and bottle feeding when necessary - and I emphasize when NECESSARY. Personally, I have disassociated myself from the company and have encouraged local healthcare groups (e.g. ILCA affiliates, LLL chapters, lactation programs at hospitals, etc) and IBCLCs in private practice to do the same. I encourage ALL of you to consider doing the same. It WILL make a difference; although it may not happen immediately. I have contacted another pump company to obtain products that I need for the children I work with. Also, I have decided to contact local merchants to start carrying the products of the other pump company (again, I encourage you to do the same). No, I am not getting paid to do that, except that the women and children in my area will reap the benefits and that is my compensation. Hopefully, in that way, the products and accessories will be readily available for them when they are NECESSARY. Bottle feeding is only a big part of our culture because of advertising that goes back decades. We can change that just as we changed the attitude about Artificial Baby Milk (ABM). We may never be rid of unnecessary use of ABM in our culture, but we have cut down on its use and its ill-effects; we can do the same with unnecessary bottle feeding. The needs of the children do not change; the attitudes of the adults do. The children NEED breastfeeding, not breastmilk in a bottle; breastfeeding is their birthright. I wish we had an association to protect them just as we have associations to protect the rights of animals. If you need another analogy, just think of the success of the advertising of cigarettes and how we are fighting against that; we need to do the same about bottle feeding. Furthermore, it is time and budget constraints in the hospitals that also interfere with helping new moms learn how to facilitate newborn breastfeeding. All the gadgets that take the place of time and support are sold by the pump companies because of that. Why did normal healthy newborns need pumps, nipple shields, alternative feeding methods, etc? IMO, it started, in all parts of our culture, because of a paucity of breastfeeding education for pregnant and lactating women. So the pump companies started "helping" with those problems and now the industry has escalated to big bucks even if you don't NEED the products. Let's get pregnant women into breastfeeding support groups out in their neighborhoods; let's help their children be able to breastfeed in public so that others can see it every day and can learn how it works. Respectfully submitted, Lee Galasso, MS, LLLL, IBCLC, RLC Westchester County in NYS, USA [log in to unmask] "Children Are Born with the Right to Breastfeed" *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome