Graco / Sears Canada Action letter

Replacing Mother's Arms Interferes with Attachment, Growth, and Breastfeeding

Feel free to copy the babywhys yahoo group on your letter, and we will publish it here!

Thanks to Michelle Maisonville of WOMB for alerting us to this activism opportunity and providing the following letter:

I have recently received the 2008 Sears Catalogue Baby Book. Displayed on its cover is the new Graco® Sweetpeace Newborn Soothing Centre - http://www.mysweetpeace.com (hereto referred to as Soothing Centre). I am writing to express my disappointment in the manufacturing and marketing of this product.

"Give baby a place to feel calm and comforted." This phrase appears in large red letters on the advertisement for the soothing centre. As intended by nature, babies already have a "place" to be comforted in the arms of their mothers and fathers (or other loving caregivers). For months as fetuses, babies are calmed by the rhythmic sound of their mother's heartbeat and soothed by the gentle rocking of her movements. The world beyond the uterus is foreign and even frightening to a newborn baby and even a simple piece of fabric with the mothers scent cannot adequately suffice to instill security in a newborn. Unfamiliar surroundings are eased by the presence of the only constant(s) a child has known – the voice and presence of the mother and caregivers that have been heard and felt in utero. To separate a child from these constants does not make for soothing conditions, rather breeds confusion and loneliness.

The argument may be made that the soothing centre is a product of convenience for those times when parents are struggling to prepare meals, are in need of a "break" or when nothing else seems to soothe a child. Indeed, there are times when simply holding and rocking a colicky or ill child does not work. However, these products of convenience are being used all too often. Babies require touch to properly develop. In her book, The Vital Touch, Sharon Heller, PhD states:

"Growth hormone emanates from the hypothalamus (located in the limbic system and part of our old mammalian brain). Touch sends a message to the pituitary gland to release growth hormone. Conversely, separation and touch deprivation block it. "

Regarding the effects of touch on growth, Heller sites the study, "Sensory deprivation stress and supplemental simulation in the rat pup and preterm human neonate, " Child Development 58 (1987): 1431-47 by Saul Schanberg and Tiffany Field. Heller then goes on to list short and long-term consequences of using baby containers, such as infant carriers and bouncers.

"Carry our babies to the car in a container, out of the car in a container, through the mall in a container, into the restaurant in a container, back to the car in a container, and home to a container, so that objects define our baby's existence more so than our body, is not just a step away from tradition. It is a cataclysmic change far out of step with the rhythmic pas de deux to which our babies' minds and bodies were choreographed... No species in a hundred years or so can turn the time-tested mother-baby relationship on its head without consequences. In the short term, diminished contact makes babies fussier than they need be and mothers more conflicted than they need be."

Long-term consequences include isolationism, difficulties with intimacy, adversarial relationship with ones own body and pronounced reduction in close human contact.

Developing attachment with one's children is not only beneficial to the child, but also to the parenting relationship. If one is closely bonded to their child from the beginning through touch and responding to the infant's needs quickly, the child will have a sense of security; he or she will know that parents or caregivers are there for them when they need them. This, in turn, fosters open communication as children grow into adolescence.

Independence is also a result of strong parent/caregiver-child attachment. Pediatrician William Sears, MD and his wife, Martha Sears, RN, write in The Baby Book:

"Earlier theories about spoiling claimed that an infant who is strongly attached to his mother would never get out of the groove, become independent, and explore on his own. Our experience and the experiments of others have shown the opposite. In a classic study, called the strange-situations experiment, researchers studied two groups of infants (labeled "securely attached" and "insecurely attached") during and unfamiliar play situation. The most securely attached infants, the ones with the deepest grooves, actually showed less anxiety when separated from their mothers to explore toys in the same room... The consistent availability of a trusted caregiver provides needed reassurance and promotes independence, confidence, and trust, leading to an important milestone by the end of the first year—the ability to play alone."

Attachment and closeness between mother and child is also important in establishing breastfeeding. La Leche League, the international breastfeeding organization, recommends keeping baby close. The use of items such as sling carriers and back or front packs are helpful alternatives to bouncers or swings. Mothers are better able to read baby's feeding cues and avoid the fussiness of a hungry baby by feeding prior to baby's cries. This is also helpful for bottle-feeding families. In addition, children are kept close to the caregiver's heart where they feel warm, safe and secure. Wearable carriers also make it easier for caregivers to accomplish their daily tasks without sacrificing the benefits that attachment brings to their children and themselves.

As society becomes increasingly reliant on "containers," parent-child relationships and relationships within society will suffer. As Dr. W Winnicott is quoted in La Leche League's Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, "The only true basis for the relationship of a child to mother and father, to other children, and eventually to society is the first successful relationship between mother and baby."

Children should not be treated as an inconvenience. Rather, as the embodiment of our future, they should be nurtured and encouraged to develop to their full potential.

In an ideal world, a product such as the Graco® Sweetpeace Newborn Soothing Centre would not be perceived as necessary and therefore would not be on the market. Personally, I would like to see it taken off of shelves and no further advances to technology in artificial soothing of infants to be made. I will move within the community to make this a reality. In the meantime, I would ask that as the developers, manufacturers and retailers of such products, you would research not only the immediate results of your products, but also the benefits of mother-child attachment and the adverse effects of artificial soothers. Provide this information to the consumers and advise caregivers to use products sparingly rather than replace essential contact with their children with an external device.

To consumers, I ask that you be vigilant in providing the best for your children, and for our future, by giving them the most important baby necessity of all – love and security through a carefully developed bond of attachment.

Sincerely,

Michelle Maisonville
Parent - Student – Advocate
Women's Options in Maternity Care & Birth
http://www.freewebs.com/womb

PS Please write to Sears ( home@sears.ca ) and Graco ( service@graco.net ) to show your disapproval of this product.

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UPDATE:
This letter was received as a response from

Dear Michelle,

Thank you for you for your email. The children and families you serve are lucky to have such a passionate and well educated person such as yourself. You may be surprised to learn that I agree with you on many of your points. Actually, in many ways we are on the same page in our concerns for the ways in which parents and other caregivers are overusing and abusing products made for young children. There is not a week that goes by that I don't teach parents, caregivers and/or students about the vital importance of the sensory systems especially tactile and vestibular processing. I frequently reference the same materials you included in your email.

That said, in my many years of practice, I've seen that we do not live in aworld that is always the optimal for young children and their families. There are many reasons and situations that prevent a parent or primary caregiver from being able to hold and soothe a baby for as long as that particular child may need. And, in some cases it may actually be risky for a parent to continue to try to comfort and soothe their baby. It's an unfortunate reality but one that we professionals must face if we are to be truly effective working with young children in the context of their families.

I've not yet seen the 2008 Sears Catalogue Baby Book. You say that the advertisement says, "Give baby a place to feel calm and comforted." You see, it's just that, a place not a relationship. I can assure you that the folks at Graco with whom I've consulted did not develop this product to replace the parent. Actually, their claim is that this product was 'inspired by nature's best soother" – mother.

My career has been focused on helping foster healthy relationships between parents/caregivers and young children. And, I've never missed an opportunity to educate parents on the proper ways to use adaptive equipment and/or baby products. I now find myself in a very unique position. I am now able to educate and consult with a company that makes products for babies and young children. The good news is that I am finding that the people with whom I am working at Graco want to learn all they can about child development. I have found that they do respect the parent/child relationship and in no way are trying to replace the parent. Rather, they are interested in supporting parents in the challenging task of caring for young children through the manufacturing of baby products that parents can use as they determine best for their child. Parent education is and will be a part of their efforts. Baby products are on the market and are being used by parents every day. As you said, it is our job as child development specialists to "…advise caregivers to use the products sparingly rather than replace essential contact with their children…"

As I have grown professionally and personally (I am the mother of three young children) I have learned that there are no absolutes and that the optimal world I envision for infants, toddlers and their families is not always
possible. Formula is used regularly in the NICU, breast fed babies sometimes need to suck on a pacifier and working parents sometimes need full day child care for their young children.

I agree with you that parents must be vigilant in providing the best for their children. I also believe that parents need to know themselves - their strengths, their challenges and their limitations. It would be a shame to withhold a product on principle. Rather, our job is to support young children in the context of their families by listening and learning about their unique situations and then providing support and education that best fits their individual needs. Ultimately, infant mental health requires both a physiological and psychological relationship match. Thank you once again for your thoughtful impassioned email. I am always pleased to see a professional in the field of child development thinking critically in the best interests of young children.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Rosinia, Ph.D., OTR/L
President, Kid Links Unlimited, Inc.
Linking theory to practice, parents with professionals and kids with their
optimal development.