Friday, October 9, 1992 ~ North Shore News - 7

\dd woman out

Our society continues to maintain strange attitudes towards breast-feeding

WHAT DO a goldsmith shop in Prince George and Lon-
don Drugs have in common? In one important way, both
have taken actions that work against the optimal health of

children.

Last month, a Prince George
woman was in a local goldsmith
shop with her !2-week-ald
daughter. The baby became
hungry.

Lynnell Marquette sat down in
a small alcove and_began to nurse
. her child, pulling a blanket over

her shculder and the baby.

A female salesclerk in the store
asked Marquette to leave, com-
menting that breast-feeding made
people uncomfortable.

When Marquette protested, the.
male store manager applied extra
pressure to ensure her departure. .

Marquette has lodged a com-*

’ piaint with the B.C. Council of
* Human Rights.

As for London Drugs, the chain
is currently giving a leg-up to one
of the Jarger infant formula man-
ufacturers, Ross Laboratories.

Under the guise of informing
women about breast-feeding, Ross
provides free samples of formula ~
and formula information in a gift
pack.

Apparently, London Drugs feels
absolutely no hesitation in using
respected health professionals to
peddle formula (women collect

’ their gift packs from the store’s
pharmacists).

Nor does London Drugs feel
any ethical obligation to follow

. the World Health Organization’s

(WHO) international cade, which

includes no advertising of formula

products to the public and no free
samples to mothers.

Both these cases show just how
far we still have to go in our ac-
ceptance and support of a basic
heaith choice that has been proven
better for babies.

In the Prince George incident,
the suggestion that breast-feeding

-- makes people feet uncomforiable

MAILE

Civilized

Catherine

JUST ADD WATER

seems (o imply there’s something
indecent and sexual about the act
of a child feeding at a mother’s
breast.

Just how warped have we
hecome to want to banish a
breast-feeding woman from sight?

Unfortunately, this weird at-
tiiude toward what should be the
most naturai and acceptable of
occurrences isn’t limited to Prince
George.

As Dr. Verity Livingstone, med-
ical director of the Vancouver .
Breast-feeding Centre at VGH,
says, ‘‘Many women are shy
about breast-feeding and many
husbands are embarrassed about
their wives doing it.

The fact that these days you're
the ‘‘odd woman out" if you're
committed to breast-feeding
points to a critical disconnection
that has occurred between mothers
today and women throughout the
centuries.

(know my grandmothers

OX
parting

entirely possible

Dear Editor:

The coming referendum was

. conceived with the idea of keeping
the country together, but many
politicians present the issue in
such a way that one is inclined to
believe that no matter what the

result of the vote, we always lose.

Among other reasons, because
-Canada will be smailer. Still, con-
trary to common belief, a small
country does not have to be
dependent and poor. .
Switzerland, Sweden, Norway
and Finland, although their com-
bined population hardly equals
that of Canada, and they have
fewer natural resources than we
do, are unquestionably free and

‘” have the world’s highest standard

of living.

! believe that friendly co-ex-
istence’ of the Anglo-Canadians
and the Quebecois is possible

: whether separated or not, provid-
ed we do not act like offended
- children.

A few examples should explain
why.

Norway seceded from Sweden
in 1905, which did not prevent
both countries from co-existing
peacefully.

Hungary and Austria, part of
the same empire, parted in 1918

with no calamitous results.

And recently Czechoslovakia
split in two countries without cries
of desperation being heard.

Civilized parting without threat,
hate or venom would not change
much in our case either.

Also, let us not close eyes to the
fact. that the Quebécois are dif-
ferent by their history, religion,
culture and legal system (Napole-
onic Code) and this is at the root
of discord.

Having lived for years in
English-speaking Canada, in
Quebec and in the U.S.A., I
daresay the Quebecois differ more
from us than we differ from the
Americans, and still not many
Canadians would justify on that
basis asking that Canada be ad-
mitted into the U.S.A. federation.

To end this letter, | want to
emphasize that I would prefer this
countzy to stay together, but if it
splits I will not despair, because !
believe that sincere cooperation

‘would be established soon after

partition.

We cooperate amicably with
many countries of the world; why
shouldn't we cooperate with
Quebec?

Alexander Kadulski
North Vancouver

breast-fed their children, but I
can’t talk to my own mother
about the most basic of maternal
experiences because the mothers
of the ’50s and 60s were fed the
miracle of formula feeding. Like
so many children of my genera-
tion, I was not breast-fed.

While the promotion at London
Drugs appears to provide some
support to breast-feeding, as
Renee Hefti of the B.C. Breast-
feeding Coalition points out, it
carries a subtle message that
underrnines the self-confidence of
women: ‘‘Breast is best, but...°*

In other words: ‘‘If it’s just too
hard, Mom, we're there for you
and your baby with formula.”’

The coalition is calling for a
boycott of all London Drugs
stores in the province because of
the promotion. :

Anyone who has tried to put a
newborn to the breast, or has
talked to women about that expe-
rience, Knows how crucial self-
confidence is in successful nurs-
ing.

My own experience is probably
not unusual. I awoke in my hospi-
tal hed after a lengthy labor and
Caesarean section to a nurse chir-
ping, ‘‘Feeding time.”’

{ was so confused and frankly
scared at what seemed like the

superwoman task of aursing my
son that { afmost blurted out to
the nurse, ‘Isn't that your job?”

It took me and my son at least
two days to figure out how to get
a good latch; if it hadn’t been for
my commitment to breast-feeding
and some patient nurses, I proba-
bly would have caved in and re-
quested formula.

Through this initial phase, 1 had
the overwhelming feeling that J
was alone with an awesome re-
sponsibility. Sure, my husband
was there saying. ‘You can do
this, love."” But that wasn’t the
same as having a reassuring
woman there — a mother,
grandmother or friend — who had
already done it.

Hefti, a registered nurse and
West Van resident, says that 80%
to 100% of B.C. women know it’s
important to breast-feed. Women
know breast-feeding builds a
stronger immune systein in the
child.

They might also know that
research indicates breast-fed
babies have less diabetes and that
breast-feeding provides essential
fatty acids (that formula can’t) for
critical brain growth in the first
year of life.

The sad fact that after a year
less than 10% of women are fol-

More time needed

Dear Editor:

Canadians are being asked to
judge a unity deal that most peo-
ple will never see till after we have
voted. The text has not, and will
not, be out in time for any kind
of study.

Canadians are shocked to see
some of the decisions and rulings
that came from the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms. This is
because we got something that we
had never seen, and §. know we
would not have allowed it, had we
seen the basic values we uphold be
diminished.

The same principle applies now,

Nobody is totally happy with
the agreement as written, and to
have a government ask us to hold
our noses and vote Yes is ridicu-
lous. The U.S. Congress took 10

years to come up with their
constitution and we should do no
less.

We should not accept second
best; no Canadian should.

The problems from my point of
view are the seat representation in
the House, the so-called elected
Senate, the entrenchment of three
Supreme Court seats, and the
amending formula.

We have moved all the senators
from one building to being back-
benchers in another; imagine 400
at the public trough. They have
only 530 in the U.S. government
for a population 10 times larger.

By the way, if our Supreme
Court judges are deemed to be
impartial decision-makers, why
should Quebec have three seuts
always?

lowing WHO feeding guidelines is
not because women don't know
breast-feeding is healthier,
cheaper and more convenient — it
is due overwhelmingly to a lack of
support in this society.

The truth is, there are powerful
financial inducements for the
various players in the health-care
system to promote (however subt-
ly and professionaliy) the use of
formula.

“Every year, companies make
$11 billion in profits worldwide by
artificially feeding babies,’’ Dr.
Livingstone points out:

!n other words, selling formula
has become a high-stakes market-
ing game.

Lest there be any doubt thar
moving product is the priority;
London Drugs has dispelled it by
using its vice-president of mer-
chandising (as opposed to a
pharmacist) as a spokesman
throughout the controversy over
the ‘chain’s promotion. -

Commenting on the promotion,
Leonard Marks said: ‘ft is for
women who have had a baby and
who we hope will become custom-
ers of London Drugs and take
advantage of the products we
sell’? .

Beautifully put, Mr. Marks.
ERNE AN REARCONST

to decide

seats. The best available people
should tbe named, even if they

were all from the Yukon for
stance.

I also believe the amending
formula will make it virtually im-
possible to improve this “pig in a
poke’’ we are asked to approve,
particularly in light of varying
veto powers.

i do not buy the argument that
a No vote will destroy the coun-
try. I believe that by being rea-
sonable and understanding we can
have a constititution that would
meet with approval by all.

So let us take the time (we have
lots of it) and do the job right.

L.B. Seward
North Vancouver

in-