so-called News segment

[MommytoTwo]

There was a segment on the news just now about how to save on baby costs. Not ONE friggin word about breastfeeding. I cant believe it!!! It was all about how to save on disposable diapers, formula and food. They didnt even MENTION breastfeeding!!!! I could say something about CD and foods too but I really just want to address the BFINg part. I am so pi$$ed off right now.

This is all I have so far:

I absolutely an appalled at Amy's ridiculous little report on how to save money on baby supplies. Not one mention of a way to save THOUSANDS of dollars - how about breastfeeding? Not to mention its healthier for the baby. I hope no pregnant mother who is uninformed about the numerous benefits of breastfeeding was watching this tonight. Maybe before your next report you might actually do some research.


What else should I put in? Maybe I should make it a little less angry so they dont write it off as some "breastfeeding nazi"???

[artgoddess]

Wow, that makes me . It is so bad it almost reaks of a new station not wanting to loose advertising from some formua company.

I love that you are writing a letter, but I would try to make it sound nicer. I know you wrote this post when you were hot under the collar, but calling the piece a "ridiculous little report" at the begining might truns someone off to the point of throwing it in the trash before even completing the paragraph. Closing with an insult isn't going to get them to maybe run another story.

Tell them how you feel, somehting along the lines of, you saw the commercial for the story, and got really excited because you are a mother and are alwys lookinf for ways to save $$. Then go in to how your excitement turned to sadness when you actually saw a story with a lack of information. (unless there was somethign you learned, you could compliment them on, maybe a local discount store). Then tell them there are many ways to save that were not even mentioned, CD, making your own baby food and most importantly and most cost effective BREASTFEEDING! Then you say something like, "you may not realize this but here are some of the costs that can be saved by families whose babies are breastfed.

-Formula (estimated $4,000 per child over lifetime.
-Bottles, nipples, measuring scoops etc...
-Bottle Cleaning/sterilizing Equipment
-Child healthcare costs. Since it is proven that children who are not breastfed have more illnesses, parents of babies who are breastfed can save on healthcare costs by having fewer trips to the pediatrician and pharmacy for things like ear infections, colds, respitory problems, digestive problems etc... These health benifits last a lifetime, and are not just for the time children and BFing.
-Loss of work time for parents. Parents of breastfed children miss less work then those who are parents of formula fed children, who must go to the doctor more often.
-Orthodontics. Breastfeeding has been shown to have a positive effect on oral development over bottle feeding, and could cut costs later in the teen years in dental care.
-Mother Health care costs. Women who breastfeed their babies have lower instances of illness, nost notably Ovarian and Breast Cancer.
-Even saves you on gas, when you don't have to run to the store late at night because you are running low on formula.

Vlose your letter with your hopes that they will run an ammended story of the same nature that could really help new parents save not just hundreds, but thousands of dollars when they include breastfeeding.

You could even add a p.s. that you would be happy to consult them on the benifits both financial and conveince of cloth diapering if they would like to include in their ammended $$ story.

[artgoddess]

I left out the cost of a bottle warmer in my list. I'll add more if I think of any.

[Zamber]

Fuzzi Bunz has a spot were you can watch a mini commercial on how to save money, and the woman gives a nice list. Possible inspiration?

[Momtwice]

Iwould definitely cite numbers. Studies show bf saves money in health care too. One major study (Kaiser Permanente insurance co?) has been mentioned as a source frequently.

[MommytoTwo]

Thank you guys. Artgoddess- you are right I was really angry when I wrote that. I am going to back and rephrase it and add numbers to back it up. Who knows maybe they will do a follow up.

[artgoddess]

I'm excited to here if you get a response from the news station. It would be so fantastic if they ran a new story on BFing saving $$. But even if they don'e I'm sure we'd all love to see their reply to you.

Good for you gtting mad enough to do something about it! You are an inspiration.

[Meiri]

Write facts to support your statements, but sometimes a bit of an insult really makes your point. It has to be a meaningful one though.

Here you are, a mom-Jane Public so to speak, able to find all these facts about how something the trained journalist competely ignored saves thousands of dollars. The implication that their reports are lousy will not be lost on the station. They have to keep those letters on file for the FCC to view at license renewal time btw.

BTDT by comparing how the station did a report on breastfeeding while only showing bottlefeeding footage to reporting on hockey by using basketball footage. It worked. Breastfeeding stories now include breastfeeding footage. What a concept!

Almost forgot! When I did that, I also sent a copy of my letter to the TV letters section of our newspaper. They did publish it.