Re: [ozmidwifery] M&CH and Infant formula

[Andrea Quanchi]

Thats just plain rude regardless of who is paying for lunch. As a M&CHN and midwife I can say that it is not outside my experience. Having lunch, study days whatever paid for by a formula making company doesn't constitute a commitment to promote their product over BF. The reality is that many woman choose not to continue BF once they leave hospital and have often chosen a formula and started using it prior to being seen by the M&CHN. This gap between the last visit by the Dom midwife and first visit by M&CHN is a problem that seems to be huge but I can see that it is avoided by continuity of carer. I think M&CHN can and do have a responsibility to understand the differences in formulas so that they can discuss them with clients and still maintain their committment to BF

Andrea Quanchi
On Friday, September 3, 2004, at 08:07 AM, barbara glare & chris bright wrote:

Hi,
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Last week I had rather an upsetting experience.� I was invited to speak at a meeting of local Maternal and Child health nurses about the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines on infant feeding.� I did this in my capacity as a volunteer breastfeeding counsellor.
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I reached the venue at the agreed time, my talk well prepared, overheads done (at considerable personal expense ) to find......no-one there.� But the table was covered in Nestle sample bags,formula samples�and empty kit kat wrappers.� The nurses were out to lunch......paid for by Nestle.� The first people arrived back 1/2 an hour later than I had been asked to attend.� My 20 mnth old daughter was also with me, and while she was well-behaved, she had already been "good" for 1/2 an hour.
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Is this common practice in Maternal and child health in Victoria/Australia.� Does Maternal and child health have a code of ethics?� Does this still go on in hospitals (I would have thought (hoped) not.� Who would be the most appropriate person/group to complain to.� I don't believe health professionals should compromise themselves in this way, and it is in complete contravention of the WHO code.� Some of the nurses have phoned me personally since then to apologise.� I think they could tell I was unimpressed
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Warm Regards,
Barb
IBCLC
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