National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign will be Launched
Despite Protests from Infant Formula Industry
WASHINGTON, DC, January 26, 2004--The US Breastfeeding
Committee is announcing today that the $40 million National Breastfeeding
Awareness Campaign will launch this spring in spite of
infant formula company protests. The USBC met with
Dept. of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary
Kevin Keane on January 22, to discuss the HHS decision on the revised content
and theme of the campaign. The DHHS campaign, originally
due to be launched in December 2003, was
postponed after a concerted lobbying effort from the
formula industry, who targeted Tommy Thompson, Lamar
Alexander, Bill Frist, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, among others. The
Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition, which includes several members of
the USBC, is pleased that the campaign will go on
after concerns about possible cancellation, and that it will contain strong
statements about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for the
first six months of life.
The Ad Council who developed the campaign for DHHS,
conducted research which found that women are most likely to respond to
information on the risks of not breastfeeding, rather
than the more traditional "benefits of breastfeeding"
approach. The Ad Council research showed that traditional
messages lead people to think of breastfeeding like vitamins, as a
healthy supplement to a standard diet. Currently, US breastfeeding rates
fall well below federal goals set by Healthy People 2010.Despite
enormous pressure from the infant formula industry, DHHS will stick to
the original risk-based message. However, DHHS will soften the tone of
the original message.
For the creation of the ads, an advisory panel of
nationally known experts came up with conservative numbers for the risks of not
breastfeeding, in the process reviewing scientific papers quite
rigorously. These risk numbers were removed, in part because the
researchers believed that the range of risk cannot be communicated
accurately in a single number for one condition. Yet, single numbers are
necessary for an effective marketing format. According to the original ad
campaign, children who are not exclusively breastfed for six months are:
-about 40% more likely to develop type 1 diabetes (also
known as juvenile-onset diabetes)
-about 25% more likely to become overweight or obese
-about 60% more likely to suffer from recurrent ear
infections -about 30% more likely to suffer from leukemia -about 100% more
likely to suffer from diarrhea -about 250% more likely to be hospitalized for
respiratory conditions like asthma and pneumonia
The infant formula industry has traditionally framed
infant feeding as a lifestyle choice rather than a
public health issue. They said they do not like the
campaign because they fear it will make mothers feel guilty, and they question the science behind the ads. The risk-based campaign puts
infant feeding back into the domain of public health. In spite of
industry pressure, the ad campaign will go on.
For additional information, contact Marsha Walker, RN, who
sits on the Board of both MBC and USBC, 781-893-3553 or MBC Chair, Melissa
Bartick, MD, 978-784-9000 or 617-513-5877.
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