DHHS/Ad Council breastfeeding campaign

[mamaroni]

Have you heard about this? I'm sort of new to MDC, and this is my first time posting on this board, so apologies if this is "old news." I thought it was really interesting.

I saw a short article in the most recent issue of FitPregnancy about the following campaign:

"This fall, the nation's largest breastfeeding campaign will debut, sponsored by teh Dept of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health (OWH) and the Ad Council. . . . The three year campaign aims to change that (women's general view that bottle-feeding is just as good as b'feeding) by promoting breastfeeding via memorable ads (think Smokey the Bear or the crash-test dummies), which will be created for free by the Raleigh, N.C. ad agency McKinney & Silver."

There are a few more paragraphs, and I've paraphrased a little. The last line is "To volunteer, or for breastfeeding help, call 800-994-9662 or visit www.4woman.gov."

It's also interesting to point out that in the same issue, in the letters to the editor section, there is a letter from a reader expressing "disappointment. . .that you spend so much space promoting breastfeeding."

a little off topic to bf'ing, but worthy of note: There were a few other pretty natural minded views in a few of the articles (at least relatively speaking for a mainstream publication). there was an article about "The Farm" in Tennessee (Ina May's birth center). Statements that "you can't spoil a baby" or "episiotomy is too common" and things like that.

[AnnaReilly]

I've heard *of* the ad campaign before but I haven't seen any ads yet. : Has anyone else seen them?

I haven't read FitPregnancy but it's good to hear that it does have some progressive thoughts in it.

[Geofizz]

I got an announcement about it a while ago -- maybe 6 weeks ago? Nope, I haven't seen any of the ads, either.

Anyways, I was a little disturbed by the decription I read, it's a gov'tl organization largely directing women to LLL. While I do think that more women should attend a LLL meeting, having Uncle Sam directing women to a NGO makes me uneasy.

I just looked at the site you quoted. It contains a breastfeeding section with links to many different organizations under a page entitled "Benefits of Breastfeeding" that directs you to pages with bf info. However, the content of some of them is objectionable. While it's generally true, I think that the wording goes against the message. As an example:

From http://www.kidshealth.org/PageManage...icle_set=22567

lists under breastfeeding (among benefits)

"# Difficult with breast surgery. Women who have had major breast surgery, such as breast reduction, may have difficulty breast-feeding because their breasts may not produce enough milk or the ducts through which the milk travels in the breast may have been severed. (Women can use a Supplementary Nursing System (SNS) or a nursing trainer - a small tube attached to the nipple that provides additional formula or donor breast milk to the baby.)
# Limit caffeine. Caffeine intake should be limited to 300 milligrams (about 3 cups of coffee) per day because this stimulant may cause problems for some babies.
# Frequent feedings. Breast-fed babies usually need to eat more often.
# Personal discomfort. Some women feel uncomfortable with the idea of breast feeding, but with adequate education and support, most women can overcome any initial inhibitions or concerns they may have. Some mothers may find it difficult to work, run errands, or travel because of a breast-feeding schedule or a need to express breast milk during the day. Any physical discomfort associated with breast feeding, such as sore nipples (see below), are usually easily handled by observing proper technique and the advice of doctors, lactation counselors, and other experienced breast feeders."

Under bottle feeding (that is, formula):

"# Convenient. Either parent (or another caregiver) can feed the baby at any time (and expressed breast milk also can be given in these circumstances).
# Flexible. A mother who bottle-feeds has a bit more flexibility in regard to separation from their babies (to go to work, run errands, or go on a trip) without disrupting the feeding schedule. For those times when baby can't come along, expressed and stored breast milk can also be used."

That's only the first site I looked at. While I would normally be excited by a campaign to promote breastfeeding, I'm a little hesitent to get excited about this one.