Mama Bear doesn't go away when the kids are grown: Day of Action #NoFormulaAds

See my interview with Jennie Bever Babendure
over at Lactation Matters

I was lucky enough to speak to Dr. Jennie Bever Babendure for a International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA)'s Lactation Matters blog post. I did not interview Dr. Bever Babendure about her breastfeeding research as an assistant professor at ASU, nor about her work on the upcoming 2014 ILCA conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

Jennie spoke as a mother of two with her third child on the way, about the crazy level of exposure to infant formula marketing at her doctor's office.

Jennie's about the age of my step-son's wife, whose first child is due in a few weeks. Hers is one of two grandbabies I'm expecting this summer -  my daughter Rose is due in July. That's five for me: They will be cousins to my son and daughter-in-law's three little children. I am blessed.

And just a little bit cursed at the same time.

I remember, 30-odd years ago, the first moment I felt the need to defend my newborn daughter from a perceived threat, a nurse who wanted take her off my breast and away for the night, "so you can sleep, dear." I reared up and spoke sharply, pulling my baby closer to my breast, "NO! We're rooming in!" I totally personified the Mama Bear response described in this study from UCLA: Like mama bears, nursing mothers defend baby with a vengeance. And now a generation later, I've discovered that Mama Bear doesn't really go away, even when the babies have grown into capable adults with babies of their own.

Enfamil crib keepsake" cards offering 24/7 hotline "help."
Alberta Breastfeeding Committee/IBFAN's
Look What They're Doing in Alberta

My pregnant daughters and daughters-in-law must run a gauntlet of free swag: diaper bags, coolers, prenatal vitamins, make-up bags, formula company sponsored "guides" to breastfeeding, sample formula, and even cases – yes cases! – of infant formula, coupons worth hundreds of dollars, clubs offering "mommy perks, advice, and support" which include a 24/7 telephone hotline staffed by nutritional "experts" who will take your call in the middle of the night when baby won't stop crying. That's when my Mama Bear instincts kick in. I see red. Fortunately, I have this blog as an outlet for my outrage!

Formula advertising on the scale used to
weigh my newborn grandchild.
Alberta Breastfeeding Committee/IBFAN's
Look What They're Doing in Alberta

Mead Johnson! You SHALL NOT produce keepsake cards to record my grandchildrens' names, times of birth and other birth statistics just so you can direct their parents to a 24-7 nutrition hotline designed to erode their confidence in breastfeeding by offering to ship, free of charge, a case of formula by overnight courier. (See Babble.com's Similac Hotline is a big fat #fail.)

Nestlé! You SHALL NOT provide Good Start covers so my daughter-in-law has to place her naked newborn - my grandchild - on a scale that advertises your infant formula while she listens to the pediatrician cluck his tongue and say the weight gain isn't sufficient and she needs to supplement.

"[Visuals and sounds of giggling, happy babies]
What makes a happy mom?
A happy baby. And a happy feeding.
So, if introducing infant formula,
start happy, and see why no other
formula is like Good Start Probiotic..."

Nestlé! (You again!) You SHALL NOT produce TV commercials for my pregnant daughter to watch showing her laughing, babies, happy because of formula, while she waits to see her doctor.

Abbott! You SHALL NOT undermine my daughter's confidence in her ability to produce breastmilk when she Googles in the middle of the night to find out why her baby is crying.

My daughter Rose, posing for the ILCA
Lactation Matters Day of Action blog post

My daughters, my daughters-in-law, my sons and sons-in-law, my grandchildren should not have to spend a moment worrying about the validity of advice they get from doctors and health care providers who couldn't be bothered to clear their waiting rooms and offices of infant food product marketing.

May 21 is the anniversary of the WHO Code, and it's a Day of Action to tell hospitals, clinics, and doctors to stop unethical marketing of infant food company products in the health care facilities. In some countries this is the law and in a growing number of jurisdictions in Canada it's policy.

Fortunately, my pregnant daughter works in marketing, and she recognizes slick campaigns have a bottom line imperative - to sell infant food products. At the expense of breastfeeding.

Baby friendly communities are free of
coercive and predatory marketing.

Fortunately my equally savvy pregnant daughter-in-law lives in a community where there is a commitment to make all hospitals Baby Friendly, and where the WHO Code is honoured eliminating such marketing. She and my step-son have made a choice to live in a strong buy-local and local-food community where the health authority partners with community businesses instead of infant food product companies.

Fortunately my daughter-in-law, fierce Mama Bear protector of three, had already lined up a supply of human donor milk to supplement.

How can expecting mothers and families protect yourselves?

Reject advertising influences and make intentional choices about who you to surround yourself with at this amazing, happy time. And Mama Bears? Stand up for yourselves, your families, your children and your grandchildren.

Join the Day of Action. Write up a sign, take a picture, and post it on the social media channel of your choice with the hashtag #NoFormulaAds. Call for policies and laws to curb predatory marketing that erodes maternal and infant health. Demand genuine, unbiased support for new moms.

Head over to Public Citizens' Day of Action Facebook Event page or to their guide, How to take action against the marketing practices of formula companies for more ways to get involved.

Read and share passionate posts from these Mama Bear bloggers:

Best for Babes: We Support Formula-Feeding Moms AND We Fight Formula Marketing

KellyMom: Why Keep Formula Marketing Out Of Healthcare Facilities

The Boob Geek: The WHO Code, marketing, sponsorship and why you should give a damn

Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine: Day of Action: get out from under the influence of a lifetime of formula marketing

Mocha Manual: Forget the WHO Code, it's the Street Code that undermines mothers in Detroit

Breastfeeding Chicago: Free ain't Free

Note: I am a member of the ILCA Medialert Team. My views are mine alone and do not represent ILCA.