(paraphrased from “The Dastardly Deeds of the AAP”, Mothering Magazine March-April 2004)
The National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign is a three-year multimedia social marketing campaign whose purpose is to carry out the recommendations of the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) “Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding”. The overall goal of the campaign is to increase the proportion of mothers who breastfeed their babies. For a copy of the Blueprint call the DHHS helpline at 800-994-9662.
The campaign was scheduled to begin in the fall of 2003. However, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) annual conference, representatives of infant formula companies lobbied the AAP to do something about the “negative messages” of the campaign. At that conference, the same day he was installed as president of the AAP, Carden Johnston signed a letter to Tommy Thompson, secretary of the DHHS expressing misgivings about the tone of the National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign. In his letter he said, in part, “We note that the focus will be on the risks incurred by not breastfeeding rather than expound upon the benefits derived from breastfeeding.” In response to Thompson’s Letter, Dr. Lawerence Gartner, previous chair of the AAP’s Section on Breastfeeding, made the point that showing the risk of not breastfeeding is entirely the point of the awareness campaign. The public does not currently perceive that there is a negative consequence of not breastfeeding. (For both Thompson’s & Gartner’s Letters see “Formula Companies Play Foul”
Dr Gartner’s letter continued, “The Advertising Council, and the Office on Women’s Health, with the assistance of many other organizations and members of our own Section on Breastfeeding carefully researched the question of how this campaign should be oriented.”
“We believe The Advertising Council’s extensive experience in public service messages should be honored and followed. Many other campaigns have had a major impact on the improvement of health and social conditions for our citizens. Their PSA on Seat Belt Usage uses an approach similar to their plan for the Breastfeeding campaign; they provide examples of what can happen when not wearing a seat belt.”
It’s unethical that the formula industry that stands to lose millions of dollars if the National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign is successful has a say in the content of the campaign. Because no one makes money from breastfeeding, its obscene its advocacy can be obstructed by formula lobbyists.
“Breastfeeding & the Use of Human Milk” contained more than 100 references and took our nation’s experts years to complete. In the last four years, over 1,000 breastfeeding studies have been done. Ear infections, asthma, allergies, respiratory illnesses, and obesity are considerably less in breastfed babies. Breastfed babies are smarter and their moms have a 61% reduction in breast cancer.
The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for at least two years. If we followed this recommendation the US could save over $1 billion dollars a year. As Dr. Gartner said in his letter, “There is every reason to believe that infant formula companies are pulling out all the stops to get this ad campaign buried, or, at least, modified to be less effective…This entire affair is a very serious matter, which raises many questions about the leadership of the AAP and the influence of the formula industry on AAP actives.”
Formula manufacturers donate $1 million dollars annually to the AAP. (See www.aap.org/donate/fefhonorroll.htm) Johnson & Johnson also donates to the Ad Council and has threatened to pull millions from the Ad Council’s budget if specific risk numbers were not pulled from the National Breastfeeding Awareness campaign ads.
Ear infections, asthma, allergies, respiratory illnesses, and obesity are considerably less in breastfed babies. Breastfed babies are smarter and their moms have a 61% reduction in breast cancer.
The mission statement of the AAP is “to attain optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults.” While this may be true for many AAP members, the organization as a whole has traded optimal health for political position and money.
If you are as outraged as I am about these attacks to the National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign, contact DHHS Secretary, Tommy Thompson at 1-877-696-6775, AAP president Carden Johnston at 205-939-6039 or call your elected representatives. Let everyone know that we will never give up.
More info: Valerie J. Bittmer