The Research Institute of Mother and Child Care Survey?

[ap mom]

Has anyone else received one of these? It is heavily geared towards ascertaining one's formula usage/ samples received in the mail and at the hospital etc.

After googling it I see that they may be a division of Abbott Labs, thought that is not stated on the letter. There's no return address (other than a P.O. Box) or contact number to call. Part of me wants to fill it out to tell them that I'm (gasp) still BF'ing my 19 mo old child and that we've never (gasp) used formula.

Does anyone know anything about this "institute"?

[tanya1976]

I received the survey and tossed it b/c I figured they would try to send formula samples.

[Momma Aimee]

i have gottne them in the past -- i enjoy filling them out "never used" and so on and wrtting in the comment area about extended nuresing ..... i guess in the grand picture it mans noting, but i always enjoy doing it.

A

[arismom1029]

I recently got one and filled it out for my almost 3 year old nursling. that was fun!

[turtlewomyn]

I think I got two surveys from them, one around 4 months and one later than that. I did supplement when dd was young, between 2-4 weeks. However, I did enjoy filling out the surveys with "never use" for any time after that. And, when they asked about starting solids (on the 4 month survey) I enjoyed writing in something along the lines of "Babies should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months as a minimum" or something to that effect. I think I wrote lots of notes in the margins about breastfeeding being best.

[annettemarie]

I'm fairly certain it's been discussed here before that those so-called surveys are basically just fronting for the formula industry.

[tashantx]

after 7 phone calls!

I've got a toll free # where the nutritional end of abbott labs ross makers of similac and isomil can be reached I've been on the phone all morning and if nothing else I got my opinion out on this . I don't know if it does any good or not but I hope maybe others will phone them and ask them why instead of these surveys don't they send out pamplets on the challenges of breastfeeding with info on growth spurts nursing strikes and other challenges mothers face I want them to also encourage extended breastfeeding by not sending questionaires asking about toddler formulas please call them if you can there is also a petition somewhere too if you google the institute it is in a blog of a disgruntled mom!
1-800-227-5767
address
The research institute of mother and child care
p.o. box 182836
columbus ohio
43272-5314



this type of marketing is a disgrace!

[momma2libby]

: I wrote "breast is best" really big across the page and over their little bubbles to pencil in which formula is used.

[julie128]

I found it annoying that, when asking how long you plan to bf, they only go up to 24 months. I had to write in my answer. It's worth it to fill out the survey, imho, because it's actually real research. A lot of bf research is actually done by formula companies.

[TattoMomK]

May I ask if those of you receiving these survey's gave birth in a hospital?

I don't get ANYTHING from diaper or formula companies and I suspect it has to do with the fact I gave birth at home.

I am off the radar. hee hee

[jaxxy]

I got three of these. Exact same. One of them even sent a dollar along with the questionaire. I filled out the first right around when DS was 2 months. I started catching on by the second survey and didn't send it back. The third one I wrote all over it in permanent marker to please stop assisting in the marketing of formula....and all sorts of other things to that effect. I can't remember if I ever got around to mailing it back or not.

* I did give birth in a hospital. Hillcrest in ohio. I noticed the address above is for columbus ohio.

[onlyAngil]

Just a side note... but I had a home birth and NO WERE on here is this a choice.

[AustinAmber]

Oh.......I got one of those and filled it out innocently and I enjoyed it because I was happy to do a survey about breastfeeding. It never occurred to me that it was for formula companies. Although I might know better now! FWIW I gave birth in a free-standing birth center and I got plenty of formula samples/coupons and disposable diaper samples.

[Ellien C]

I'm not sure it's a good idea to fill these out. It's not scientific research, it's marketing research.

It just arms them with your values and ways to reach you to sell you things you don't need. They'll correlate your survey results with your websurfing and cloth-diaper habits and re-brand an arm of their company the Natural Family Living company - and sell you "natural formula" or supplements for the nursing mom - or supplements for the mom nursing 2-4 year olds. Or products for when menstuation returns and you're still nursing or special neonatals for the nursing yet pregnant mom, or special weaning formulas for the older child in the tandem nursing set.

Mark my words (say that like a spooky crone-witch). Don't do it!