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From TV to Real Life- Lack of Education Causes Tragic Results

Part of the resistance to breastfeeding in the US stems from the popular culture's portrayal of nursing and bottle-feeding. A fall 1998 episode of the TV show Chicago Hope featured a couple whose baby died of dehydration and malnutrition because his breastfeeding mother, who suffered from insufficient milk syndrome, refused to supplement with formula. One hospital staff member finger-wagged at the irresponsible parents. The baby-friendly hospital was chided for pressuring the mother to nurse.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), whose members include major formula-makers like Abbott Labs, American Home Products, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Johnson & Johnson, and Wyeth-Ayerst International, were quite open about financially backing several episodes of the hospital drama, through what was called the Living with Hope project. This project, a collaborative effort between John Hopkins Medicine, PhRMA, CBS Television, and Twentieth Century Fox, was to sponsor a season of episodes, although PhRMA chose to fund only "three or four," according to their spokespeople.

PhRMA vice president of public affairs, Alixe Glen, said in a written statement that the partnership "allows our message to be associated with high-quality programming that deals with information on medical conditions in a responsible way." The press statement also says that this project is "part of a broader campaign strategy for the pharmaceutical association, aimed at placing PhRMA's message in positive and trusted 'health settings.'"1

Although PhRMA spokespersons Alexandra Bickel and Meredith Hart say the press statement was not issued by their organization, neither deny its content. Bickel says, though, that the organization's involvement in the show "should not be taken out of context," and says PhRMA had "no idea" what the subject matter of the show was before it aired. "We were just aligning ourselves with the program, we do not have any control over its content," she asserts. Neither could affirm whether PhRMA would have withdrawn its support if it had had prior knowledge of the antibreastfeeding theme of the episode. Hart cannot recall the amount her organization paid to support their portion of the Living with Hope project, but stated that PhRMA has a "large budget for image advertising." The Living with Hope project was, she says, PhRMA's sole endeavor in the world of pure entertainment.

A CBS spokeswoman, who asked that she not be named, says Chicago Hope did not formally notify PhMRA about the topic of the shows beforehand. However, the network website lists story lines, and breastfeeding advocates around the country were well aware of the show's content before it aired. "La Leche League was up in arms and issued a press release days before the episode aired because they were very concerned about the content," she says. Baumslag recalls seeing press releases about the episode before it aired. She, along with other breastfeeding advocates who distrust PhRMA's feigned innocence, questions why the major sponsors of the show would have no prior knowledge of the content when plenty of outsiders had the information.

The media onslaught against breastfeeding continues. In February 2000, NBC's legal drama Law & Order aired an episode that also featured insufficient milk syndrome and a baby's death. In a move that was, perhaps, even more irksome to breastfeeding advocates than the CBS drama, this show featured a lactation consultant who was portrayed as a heavy-handed drill sergeant devoid of practical advice for her client. The episode frustrated Kim Cavaliero, public relations director at LLLI. "We are here to support and educate, but we certainly don't intimidate people into breastfeeding," she says. "It seemed they pulled out every possible negative stereotype about lactation consultants and exaggerated them just for the fun of it."

Representatives at the Law & Order Advertising and Promotions Department, Publicity Office, production team, and Network Office all say they don't know who funded the episode, but some breastfeeding activists (aka "lactivists") say the antibreastfeeding message was too well crafted to have been uninfluenced by formula makers. Dia L. Michels, co-author of Milk, Money and Madness, says whether formula makers had a hand in the show is irrelevant. "There doesn't need to be a finger pointing at formula makers every time because their influence is everywhere," she says.

Given the fact that breastmilk production typically follows Mother Nature's law of supply and demand, the more a child nurses, the more milk the mother will produce. Conversely, if a mother is feeding her baby formula, she will produce less breastmilk. In frustration, she may rely even more on artificial baby milk, starting a process that often culminates in insufficient milk syndrome, a condition whose real life consequences are extremely serious.

Tabitha Walrond, a young Bronx, New York, mother, was tried for manslaughter when her seven-week-old, exclusively breastfed son died of malnutrition. In September 1999, Walrond was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and was given five years probation.2 Walrond's milk supply may have been diminished by prior breast reduction surgery. Or, because she was taking medication for several days, she may have nursed less frequently and decreased her milk supply. Her case is a clear example of why pediatricians and ob/gyns need adequate training in human lactation, so that they may better advise mothers to breastfeed more frequently and pump milk to increase their supply.

Highly publicized cases like Walrond's, coupled with hysterical antibreastfeeding television entertainment, go a long way in scaring new and expectant mothers. Glaringly absent from these messages is the fact that infants are far more likely to suffer health problems--and die--if they are artificially fed.

"From TV to Real Life"
1. PR Newswire, September 28, 1998.

2. Nina Bernstein, "Mother Convicted in Infant's Starvation Death," New York Times, September 9, 1999.