Did you read the follow up letters that were published yesterday or maybe the day before- about the family whose baby died over 10 years ago and they just recently received something?
It's bad enough getting unsolicited formula when you give birth to a healthy child. But I know from expereince that it is hell when it comes after a miscarriage. And all those damn magazines too!
Yes, I did see that. It horrified me. I'm sorry you've had to endure the same junk on top of your loss. Dealing with baby mail was a big topic of discussion at my pg loss support group. It seemed like it was happening to all of us.
I think sending formula directly to mothers is tacky, and it's a violation of the WHO code on breast-milk-substitute marketing.
I'm hoping some of the people behind these marketing campaigns will see Gandy's essay and the responses to it and realize that they need to back off.
A friend of mine (wish I had the source) told me about some researcher who enlisted in a formula-company-sponsored "New Mother's Club" under three different names: for one name, "breastfeeding only" was checked off on the form; for the second, "bottlefeeding only"; and for the third, "combination."
The breastfeeding "mother" got bottles of pre-mixed formula in the mail, lots of them. The bottlefeeder only got coupons. The combination mom got some of each. Those dudes are evil, evil, evil.
Sending promos to people who have lost their babies is indicative of their complete lack of concern for anyone's benefit but their own. Doing the work of keeping up with death records and updating their databases would cost them precious money, I'm sure.
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