books
milk money and madness the culture and politics of breastfeeding
p i commend the authors of milk money and madness for the considerable contribution they have made by voicing their opinions contributing their knowledge stimulating debate and challenging conventional wisdom . dr. richard jolly acting executive director unicef p breastfeeding is a beautiful process . it involves the participation of both mother and child and can not be duplicated by a glass bottle and rubber nipple . so why does the united states have the lowest breastfeeding rate in the industrialized world in milk money and madness baumslag and michels examine the issue of breastfeeding clearly drawing a line between fact and fiction . among the main points addressed are o how u.s. taxpayers unwittingly support and encourage bottle feeding by spending over 500 million each year to provide 37 % of the infants in the u.s. with free formula . o how a product created to help sick children and foundlings was transformed into a powerful international industry with revenues of 22 million a day . o how an intimate and self affirming life experience that is responsible for the survival of our species has been reduced to just one feeding option . milk money and madness provides parents and health professionals with the information they need to fully appreciate and advise about this critical life choice . by reviewing the history culture biology and politics of breastfeeding milk money and madness gives the reader a more complete understanding of the uniqueness of breastfeeding . p the crucial decision between breastfeeding and formula feeding is increasingly complicated by misinformation and unfounded theories which cloud the actual facts . by all accounts breastmilk is the most amazing life sustaining fluid known to humanity . many women who breastfeed characterize it as perhaps the most fulfilling life experience they will ever know . scientific research supports the fact that breastfed babies are healthier have lower infant mortality rates and fewer chronic illnesses throughout their lives than formula fed babies . similarly women who breastfeed are significantly less likely to contract serious illnesses such as breast cancer . alarmingly few people are aware of the unique benefits of breastfeeding and do not understand the dangers and risks of feeding an infant formula . in fact the united states has the lowest breastfeeding rate in the industrialized world . why has our society defied common sense and scientific data when breastfeeding has so many biological emotional environmental and even financial advantages over laboratory blends p milk money and madness is a thought provoking book that offers honest answers and straight facts about breastfeeding . this book is designed to provide women men health workers doctors nurses and midwives with the knowledge they need to advise or decide about the most suitable means of nourishment for infants . baumslag and michels consider the effects of 50 years of clever marketing and advertising which have transformed this society into one where bottle feeding is the norm and infant formula is considered to be essential to womens liberation and the forming of a paternal infant bond . they also examine attitudes toward breastfeeding in cultures all around the world as compared to the antipathy toward breastfeeding that pervades the united states . milk money and madness cuts through the myths and paranoia to offer an enlightening culturally significant look at one of the most fundamentally beautiful functions of the human experience .
paperback bergin & garvey 1995 isbn13 9780313360602 isbn10 031336060x
abridged n isbn 13 9780313360602 number in series 1 number of pages 256 publisher greenwood pub group release date 62135769600000