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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Anyone currently reading Politics Of Breastfeeding?

148 replies

hunkermunker · 30/05/2009 23:02

I'd like to talk about bits of it with people who are reading it/have read it/are interested in reading it/aren't currently interested in reading it, but will be once they've read the thread. And likely some other people too, but I haven't thought of their categories yet.

OP posts:
AnarchyAunt · 30/05/2009 23:05

Me. I am halfway though it, finally got it after being promised it for Christmas!

About to go to bed though. But I will gladly talk about it tomorrow

Original poster
hunkermunker · 30/05/2009 23:07

Fabulous! Yes, I've been waiting for mine for ages, but it's been well worth the wait - I started a thread a while ago musing about the delay and the publisher posted to say Gabrielle Palmer had wanted to include the melamine contamination in China, etc, so that's why it took longer to be published.

OP posts:
KashaSarrasin · 30/05/2009 23:23

I'm just reading the HIV chapter now. I'd already read the earlier edition and was in two minds whether to invest in the new one or not, glad I did as there's so much new information in there.

I'm also off to bed but will mark this thread for tomorrow!

vlc · 30/05/2009 23:56

I've wanted to read this for ages. Who is stocking it now? Must get a copy.

moondog · 30/05/2009 23:57

Hunker, I will discuyss it until the ows come home.
Can't believe you hven't read it until now?
It changed my life.

Original poster
hunkermunker · 30/05/2009 23:59

Amazon have copies

OP posts:
Original poster
hunkermunker · 31/05/2009 00:03

MD, I also can't believe I haven't read it until now.

But it is very nice to see all the stuff I've been banging on about for years laid out in book form, complete with photos and references

The parts about population control (I had NO idea Romania banned contraception and abortion and carried out obligatory pregnancy tests, for example) I am finding fascinating, also various things about the societies we in the West scorn for being primitive.

OP posts:
moondog · 31/05/2009 00:03

Do you know that she is speaking at ABM conference?

moondog · 31/05/2009 00:08

Here

MillyR · 31/05/2009 00:27

I read an earlier book on this about ten years ago and thought it was fantastic, but another good book is The Anthropology of Breastfeeding by Katherine Dettwyler. Even though it sounds academic it is easy to read and not dry. A lot of it is about industrialised society and male control of breast feeding. It also has lots of stuff on positive accounts of women in positions of seniority who have childcare in the workplace and breastfeed at work in Mali.

She has been involved in various campaigns and has acted as an expert witness in Northern America in court cases where ex husbands have tried to win sole custody on the basis that the mother breastfed a child over 1.

She has a site Katherinedettwyler.org

StealthPolarBear · 31/05/2009 08:15

I've just finished reading an earlier version, can I join in?

wastingmyeducation · 31/05/2009 08:27

I've just started chapter 3.
I'm so glad it's finally here, I ordered it in September.

gloomysue · 31/05/2009 08:35

I have just started reading it, may take me a while but I will finish it!

Babieseverywhere · 31/05/2009 08:41

I'm half way though mine

PuzzleRocks · 31/05/2009 09:27

Just started it and have found myself reading most of it aloud to DH.

bubbleymummy · 31/05/2009 10:21

I'm reading it too! Haven't got too far into it yet - the boys are keeping me busy.

sunfleurs · 31/05/2009 11:09

Yes I have read this. Inbetween dc. It had a real impact on the decisions I made with regard to feeding dd (2nd dc). I wish greatly I had read it before ds as I think he missed out due to my lack of knowledge.

bambipie · 31/05/2009 11:37

Just finished it and would love to talk about it! (DH getting quite bored of quotes now!). It was very readable and angry making. Shocking how we have been duped into thinking that our lovely milk is somehow substandard or that it is wrong to bf. I was really horrified about the handing out of free samples - especially by aid agencies.

I think I read it too fast though, I'm going to re-read specific chapters again.

CherryChoc · 31/05/2009 11:38

Marking my place! I am quite far through, but have been reading sleep-deprived for much of last week so I'm not sure how much I've taken in (which is fine - it means I'll get more out of it next time I read it, on the first reading I always rush books )

I have just finished the chapters about the Code of marketing.

spiderlight · 31/05/2009 15:42

Just ordered it!

ChairmumMiaow · 31/05/2009 16:51

Me too! Have done the first couple of chapters and kept reading bits out to DH in bed. Have found it very emotive reading though, so have not been reading it lately as I've been exhausted!

Would love to discuss it though.

CharCharGabor · 31/05/2009 18:03

I'm planning on reading it as soon as I get hold of a copy, been wanting to read it for a while.

Original poster
hunkermunker · 31/05/2009 18:47

OK, so some of the most thought-provoking stuff I've read so far has been around the use of bottles and the promotion of formula in Third World countries, where a tin of formula can cost more than is earnt in a month and that's WITHOUT the cost of the fuel to heat the water/sterilise the bottles. It's this last bit that I probably hadn't given much thought to - I knew formula was prohibitively expensive, I knew that it was often eked out to make a tub go further, I knew the instructions were often not printed in languages the people using it can read - but the mechanics of making it up as safely as possible - that hadn't figured as much in my thoughts as now.

I "knew" all this stuff already, but it's seeing it laid out, then seeing the cynical way the companies market their product - knowing babies will die because they aren't being breastfed - it beggars belief.

OP posts:
PuzzleRocks · 31/05/2009 20:23

I have just read the part about soy based infant formula with my mouth open.
I only recently became aware of the potential hazards of phytoestrogens and it occurred to me that one of my nieces was given a particular infant formula exclusively from birth. Since she was a baby she has had hormone problems including excessive body hair, water retention, stomach cramps, mood swings, early onset of puberty inc. pubic hair and breast tissue at 7, menstruating at 9. The numerous consultants she has seen have never been able to offer a satisfactory explanation.
I assume it would be unwise to name the brand here but could anyone tell me where I can find a comprehensive ingredients list for popular formula milks. The company website doesn't provide much info.

Tryharder · 31/05/2009 20:37

I read an earlier version of this book and found it hugely interesting and quite disturbing in places. I cried over the photo of the Indian woman with twin babies who had been told by her MIL she couldn't bf both - so bf the boy and gave formula to the girl. The boy thrived, looked fit and healthy, the girl looked like well - a concentration camp victim - no other description for it unfortunately. The girl died the day after the photo was taken apparently. We were talking about the book at my local LLL meeting and someone said that the photo in question was quite well known so perhaps others on here have seen it?

Agree with Hunker about formula feeding in t third world countries. I lived in The Gambia for a while and it would be impossible for most families to sterilize safely - no hot water, nowhere to boil water other than an open fire, nowhere to store bottles, difficult to even keep your hands properly clean, no detergent etc etc. There is cheaper formula available in Africa that costs about £3 a tin but it's basically Marvel with a bit of fat and sugar added. You could buy SMA out there in supermarkets but if I remember rightly (I used to buy it for DS1 who was mixed fed at the time) it was about £15 a tin.

I haven't read the latest version of this book as I ordered mine from the library but am definitely considering buying.