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Saturday, December 29, 2012

Freedom for Birth film - Now Online!

One World Birth's recent film "Freedom for Birth: The Mother's Revolution" was a fabulous film that was released and screened worldwide in September 2012.

They have recently released a < 15 minute version, which you can watch below!




I highly recommend watching the short film, if not the full-length version. It was a really great movie about human rights abuses that occur in childbirth all over the world.

It covers the fight by families for the right to birth where, how, and with whom they so desire. It also focuses a great deal on the famous case of Hungarian midwife Agnes Gereb. It goes into the detail of the rights of childbearing women and the law.

Support every woman's choice! Stand up for birth!

"Birth isn't something we suffer, but something we actively do, and exult in!" - Anthropologist Sheila Kitzinger



Saturday, December 22, 2012

How to Win Your Office Baby Pool

All right, I'm going to let you in on some secrets to help you win your next Baby Pool at your place of work.

In case you don't know what a baby pool is, or what it looks like, it is a game where everyone in your office guesses the date that they their pregnant co-worker will have her baby. Sometimes it includes the baby's weight and length, too. The person who comes the closest to guessing the correct date, wins!


Recently, my SO's office did a baby pool and he texted me to ask me what a good baby weight to guess might be. (I told him I'd guess between 7 and 8 pounds) He brought home a copy of the calendar with everyone's date (and length and weight) guesses on it so that I could see how much he knew about labor/birth from listening to me - he did not guess on the moms' actual EDD, but guessed a due date after the mom's due date. But what was interesting to me about the calendar is that every single person in the office guessed before the due date except my SO and one other gentleman who had 3 kids. However, the latest guess was only a couple days past the EDD. So I wrote on the calendar the latest guess date - exactly her 41 week mark. And I was right!

So, here are some tips for guessing in a Baby Pool, based on my knowledge of pregnancy and childbirth in the United States if your pregnant co-worker is a First Time Mother:

1. Weight: Go with 7.5 lbs. 
I even asked a perinatal epidemiologist about this one - for a first time mother this is the average. This is the hardest to guess, though - babies at term can range anywhere from 5.5 pounds to 10 pounds. 

2. Length: Go with 21 inches.
I'd say that the babies I've seen born have been between 19 and 22 inches, with the most common at 21 inches. 

3. Due Date: Guess exactly at their 41 week mark (one week after the estimated due date).
A. Most first time mom's have their babies past their due date. 
B. Most obstetricians get trigger happy and will find a reason that mom must be induced at 41 weeks. This is certainly true of the doctors in my area. Despite the fact that you're not "post dates" until after 42 weeks, and most first time moms have longer pregnancies, and induction on a first timer doubles the chance of a c-section, and many of the reasons give are not evidence-based (i.e. suspected "big baby"), most OB's will convince most mothers to agree to an induction at 41 weeks. 
Another bonus: Sometimes a mom who has her induction scheduled for the next day will spontaneously go into labor the night before. 


GOOD LUCK! 



Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Reasonable Break Time for Nursing Mothers

Recently I was doing research on the economic and work policy effects on breastfeeding mothers in the U.S. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that was signed by President Barack Obama in March of 2010 included an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) with a section on breastfeeding, going back to work, and break time for nursing mothers.

I've heard this law talked about for some time, so I knew what it was about, but I wanted to look deeper into it. My main question was on enforcement. As is so often the case, many breastfeeding laws are made but include no language about how they are enforced. For example, state laws that protect nursing mothers' right to breastfeed in public are on the books, but no one knows who should enforce them.

In my research I found out a few other details about the law that are good know. So, for an in-depth look into this new section of the Act that has to do with mother's expressing milk during work hours, read on!

What the Law Actually Says

SEC. 4207. REASONABLE BREAK TIME FOR NURSING MOTHERS

An employer shall provide—
7 ‘‘(A) a reasonable break time for an employee to
8 express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year
9 after the child’s birth each time such employee has
10 need to express the milk; and
11 ‘‘(B) a place, other than a bathroom, that is
12 shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-
13 workers and the public, which may be used by an em-
14 ployee to express breast milk.
15 ‘‘(2) An employer shall not be required to compensate
16 an employee receiving reasonable break time under para-
17 graph (1) for any work time spent for such purpose.

‘‘(3) An employer that employs less than 50 employees
19 shall not be subject to the requirements of this subsection,
20 if such requirements would impose an undue hardship by
21 causing the employer significant difficulty or expense when
22 considered in relation to the size, financial resources, na-
23 ture, or structure of the employer’s business.
24 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection shall preempt a State
25 law that provides greater protections to employees than the
26 protections provided for under this subsection.’’.

Exploring More In-Depth

The United States Breastfeeding Committee has a great FAQ on Section 4207. I perused it and pulled out some information that I think clears up some things about this law.

The law only states that this break time is for employees to express breast milk; It provides no rights to the mother to take a break to physically go and nurse her child. Employers vary, but some do have on-site nurseries where mom can go nurse her child during break times.

The law does say that it is not just about the break time, but also the location. Additionally, it can't just provide for enough time to express the milk, but also the time it would take to walk to the private location, set up the pump, pump, clean the pump, and walk back.
In assessing the reasonableness of break time provided to a nursing employee, the Department will consider all the steps reasonably necessary to express breast milk, not merely the time required to express the milk itself.
The location must be "private," and include a place for the mother to sit, as well as somewhere to place the pump, other than the floor. Employers are NOT required, however, to provide a location with a refrigerator to store the milk, does not require that the location have an electrical outlet to power an electric pump, and does not require the room to be near a sink for cleaning the pump.
Where it is not practicable for an employer to provide a room, the requirement can be met by creating a space with partitions or curtains. Any windows in the designated room or space should be covered to ensure the space is "shielded from view.'' With any space provided for expressing milk, the employer must ensure the employee's privacy through means such as signs that designate when the space is in use, or a lock on the door.
While employers are not required to provide refrigeration options for nursing mothers for the purpose of storing expressed milk, they must allow a nursing mother to bring a pump and insulated food container to work for expressing and storing the milk and ensure there is a place where she can store the pump and insulated food container while she is at work.
Who is in charge of enforcing this law? The people who enforce the Federal Labor Standards Act, or the Department of Labor - Wage and Hour Division. Complaints are handled the same way any complaint to the Department of Labor would be.
If an employee would like to file a complaint because she believes her employer has violated the break time for nursing mothers requirement under the FLSA, she should call the toll-free WHD number 1-866-487-9243 and she will be directed to the nearest WHD office for assistance. The WHD Web site provides basic information about how to file a complaint and how the WHD will investigate complaints.
The law does not specify a penalty for an employer who violates this requirement, but complaints may be handled the way any complaint about the FLSA would be handled.
If an employer refuses to comply with the requirements, however, the Department may seek injunctive relief in federal district court, and may obtain reinstatement and lost wages for the employee. 
If an employer treats employees who take breaks to express breast milk differently than employees who take breaks for other personal reasons, the nursing employee may have a claim for disparate treatment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
It is important to note that if a state has a law that provides more protection than this law does, the state law preempts the national law.

Breastfeeding and the Employer

The Business Case for Breastfeeding, put together by the Department of Health and Human Services, is
program designed to educate employers about the value of supporting employees in the workplace. The program highlights how such support contributes to the success of the entire business. The Business Case for Breastfeeding offers tools to help employers provide worksite lactation support and privacy for breastfeeding mothers to express milk. The program also offers guidance to employees on breastfeeding and working. Resources to help lactation specialists and health professionals to educate employers in their communities are also available.
I took a training by the Business Case for Breastfeeding a year ago. The program recommends that employers who choose to support breastfeeding employees provide 1. Milk expression breaks, 2. A clean place to express milk that is private, near a sink or provision of disinfectant wipes, an electrical outlet, and permission to store milk in a work refrigerator (or provision of a cooler/refrigerator for milk), 3. A hospital-grade electric pump, 4. Education for employees and staff support for breastfeeding employees.

These go above and beyond what the new Act calls for, but they are indeed what nursing mothers need when nursing at work. And these programs provide benefits for the employer:

  • The Business Case for Breastfeeding, published in 2008 by DHHS, demonstrates an impressive return on investment for employers that provide workplace lactation support, including lower health care costs, absenteeism, and turnover rates. Employees whose companies provide breastfeeding support consistently report improved morale, better satisfaction with their jobs, and higher productivity. As part of The Business Case for Breastfeeding initiative, coalitions in 32 states and territories received training to assist employers in establishing lactation support programs.

  • The National Business Group on Health, a nonprofit organization representing large employers on national health policy issues, says that creating a breastfeeding-friendly work environment reduces the risk of long-term health problems for women and children, decreases employee absenteeism, reduces health claims to employers, and increases retention of female employees.
  • http://www.momsforworklifebalance.com/2012/09/the-best-and-worst-in-workplace.html


    Is any of this a surprise to you?



    Friday, December 14, 2012

    3 Years In: Reflections on Birth and Being a Doula

    There are many instances in which a blogger says exactly what I've been feeling in a way so perfect that I could never have said it so well.

    Recently, Gina (aka The Feminist Breeder) wrote a post reflecting on being a doula after 20 births. I'm almost to that number myself, but I haven't taken the time to actively reflect on how my outlook has changed. But reading her post, as well as Kristen's (Birthing Beautiful Ideas) recent post "I Don't Think You Should," makes me think of how being a doula has made me feel over the past 3 years.

    http://www.gentlebirthchoices.com/what-is-a-doula/

    Gina writes that she purposely doesn't mix her doula work with her blog. I feel the same way - I don't tell my clients that I have this blog and I don't use this blog to find clients. Some people have said I should - "but you have great information on there for your clients!" or "a blog helps people find you and want to hire you!" But I have always enjoyed having this as a place where I can say what I think and feel without worrying about past or potential clients wondering if it is about them, if my opinions might change what they think of me, or thinking that I'm going to bring all of my extreme activism into my relationship with them. As Gina puts it: "I do not bring my unfiltered self into the births; I bring only my experience, my knowledge, and a big heaping helping of empathy"

    What a woman and her partner need during birth is freedom of choice and lack of judgement. The number one thing that a birth partner must learn (and perhaps say over and over to herself in her head) is "it is her birth, not mine."

    A lot of my opinions about birth have changed over the few years that I have been attending births in hospitals, birth centers, and at home. In 2010 I wrote a post reflecting on how my mindset about epidurals had changed, based on a post written by Rebecca (Public Health Doula) on the Stages of Birth Thinking. Click over to read the entire post, but here it is in a shortened version:

    There is Pre-contemplation:
    This generally means that birth education comes from mass media portrayals of pregnancy and birth, as well as personal stories from friends and family that may vary greatly, but are usually filtered through the prism of our culture's main messages about birth: Painful and pathological; done in a hospital, with doctors. You might prefer a vaginal delivery or a c-section, but there's little you can do to control the outcome, and all hospitals/doctors practice more or less the same way,
    then Initial learning and Revelation:
     "Wow! Nobody ever told me that birth could be amazing, not scary! These home births are beautiful. I didn't realize that my/my friend's/my aunt's c-section could have been prevented. I didn't know about all these harmful complications of interventions - I've only heard good things. And it's so clear how once you start one intervention, you get a cascade of them. Doctors don't have the best outcomes - midwives do! Breastfeeding has benefits I didn't know about, and they are so important."
    then Validation (or not) through Experience:
    A year of attending births nudged me yet farther away from my starry-eyed novice doula perspective. Not all c-sections can be avoided, even if you do everything "right". Sometimes epidurals are the best tool you have. Pitocin isn't fun, but it's not the end of the world. While it might be difficult to accomplish, you actually can have a great low-intervention birth in a hospital. This tempering is slow, and less personal - it's not happening to you, and it's happening over a multitude of experiences.
    and finally Integration: 
    You recognize that every situation is individual, even though there are patterns and large-scale effects that are likely, because you have a chance to see many [births].

    I think this is exactly it - every situation is individual. Gina writes that 20 births later, she no longer feels the same way about a certain provider over another, free (unassisted) birth, cervical checks, and inductions.

    She has found that there are no 100% guarantees when it comes to providers - not all doulas are perfectly supportive of all mothers, not all obstetricians are the devil (some are great!), not all midwives follow the Midwive's Model of Care (some do not practice patient-centered/evidence-based medicine). I would agree with this. I have heard wonderful stories of OB's who are amazing, nurses who go to lengths for their patients, and even seen some myself. I have also seen some terrible midwives (I've had some say my client isn't following the correct dilation curve, gah!). I still get excited when a client has a midwife as opposed to a physician, because on the whole I think they are still more likely to follow the Midwive's Model of Care, but every situation is individual. And you're more likely to receive excellent supportive care from a doula rather than not. But as TFB writes, "there’s no more “All” or “Always” to me anymore. What matters is a provider’s own philosophy, and the letters behind their name may not tell you what that is."

    On the topic of UC (unassisted childbirth), I have to agree with Gina. I've spoken to doulas around whom I know I have to keep my mouth shut on this topic. There are some very strong supporters of UC in the natural birth community. But I have enough reasons as to why I would not birth unassisted, and also why a knowledgeable care taker should be present, to argue against it. This is just my personal opinion, but I have seen and heard about situations where a trained care provider was absolutely essential. I still think it is perfectly safe to birth at home, I just think that a midwife trained to respond to postpartum hemorrhage or use her emergency oxygen supply is more likely to save my life or the life of my baby than my partner.  I know why people do it, and I know that most of the time births are normal and low-risk. But when I'm in labor land I don't want to have to be responsible for being mentally and emotionally level-headed (which I probably couldn't be, especially if I passed out). And I don't think doulas should attend UC's either. (For more on the topic of doulas at UCs, click over to this post on Navelgazing Midwife's blog)

    One point that I wholeheartedly agree with is that cervical checks in labor are almost useless! I've blogged about this before, but I will reiterate: A cervical check will not tell you how long your labor is going to be. That baby is going to come no matter how much you are dilated at a certain time. It does have several side effects: 1. disappointment and discouragement in the laboring mother, which can stall labor 2. disappointment by the medical staff, who then want to medically intervene to speed up labor in potentially unsafe ways, 3. higher risk of infection if the amniotic sac has ruptured.

    There are some pros: 1. If the mother feels it will help her to know. For example, if checking before receiving an epidural can tell us whether mother can or should wait to receive one (it can stall labor before 5 cm, or if mom is about to be complete!) and 2. If the labor pattern indicates very advanced active labor but mom isn't dilated past 3 cm. This can be an indication of a problem to be worked out, for example, massaging cervical scar tissue to help the cervix dilate, or a baby being held up off the cervix by a cord and may need emergency intervention. For when you would like to know "how far along" you are, you may not even need a cervical exam - there are ways of assessing labor progress without an internal exam.

    Gina makes a point in her blog post about sometimes inductions being necessary. My thoughts on this are: there are instances where some medical interventions are necessary, but they should be evidence-based and right for the patient. An induction because the mother and baby are medically at risk of eclampsia or because the mother is well past her 42 week mark are some. A truly emergency cesarean section is another.

    I'd like to add one more reflective point of my own: VBAC and repeat cesarean section (RCS).
    Though I believe that VBACs have been proven by scientific research to be a safe option for women, I do think that a woman has the right to make the personal decision whether to attempt a trial of labor or have a RCS. Maternity care needs to be both evidence-based and patient-centered. I fully respect a woman who weights the pros and cons of both options and makes the choice that is right for her. There are different risks for the moms and for the babies, and it is important to take into account past experiences, varying needs, and  emotions.

    I agree with the way Kristen puts it:
    I think you should give birth in a setting where you feel respected by your care providers.
    I think you should be given every chance to have the safest, healthiest mode of birth for you and your baby.
    I think you should have access to accurate and transparent information about your birth options, and that no one should use scare tactics to dissuade you from your choices.

    But I also think that the way to achieve these goals is to go about things a certain way. So I do think that you should educate yourself as much as possible (take a childbirth education class, read books) and shop around for the best care provider and birth location (consider a midwife and a doula). But this is because I want you to have the very best birth, your ideal birth, and for you to not have any regrets.

    I think the key to improving maternity care is not about everyone birthing the same way, but lies in removing any obstacles that impede women from having their best possible birth.

    How have your views about birth changed over time, if at all? Do you agree or disagree with any of my outlook? 

    Monday, December 10, 2012

    Doula Mom on a Mission to Make Birth Safe in Laos

    Recently, Kristyn asked me to spread the word about the project she founded - Clean Birth kits! The kits are aimed at preventing birth-related infections, which kill 1 million moms and babies each year worldwide.  In Laos, where maternal and infant mortality rates are abysmal (MMR worse than Afghanistan!), 80% of women give birth at home without a skilled attendant.  The kits, which cost $5 including the cost of training local community health workers, give mothers the supplies needed to protect themselves and their babies from infection.


    Kristyn recently traveled to Laos, and she has shared her story with me!

    Doula Mom on a Mission to Make Birth Safe in Laos By Kristyn Zalota
    It’s hard to believe than less than two weeks ago, I was bumping through a river in a 4-wheel drive truck en route to a remote ethnic minority village in Laos.  Now, back at home, I am reflecting on this amazing journey, which feels like the culmination of my personal odyssey from mother to doula to safe birth activist.

    In 2009-10, while living with my husband and then 1-year-old and 4-year-old on the Thai-Burma border, I witnessed the inadequate pre- and post-natal care available to poor women.  Later, as a doula in Uganda, I discovered Clean Birth Kits (CBKs), basic birthing supplies that prevent birth-related infection in mothers and babies.

    These experiences led me to research CBKs and their impact on maternal and infant mortality.  I found that Laos, a country I had visited many times while living in Thailand, has worse-than-Afghanistan rates of maternal and infant mortality rates and could be served by the kits.  So, I emailed several Lao organizations and offered to donate kits and provide training.  One of them took me up on my offer.

    Months later, kits and training materials in hand, I headed to southern Laos.  It took me 4 days to get there.  The morning after I arrived, we kicked off the Clean Birth Kits training.  Four nurses journeyed from their posts in remote Tahoy (ethnic minority) villages to attend.   They were eager to learn: they asked questions, challenged ideas, and helped adapt the program to match needs on the ground.  I was impressed with their professionalism and commitment to introducing Clean Birth Kits, which they agreed “the mothers would be happy to use.



    In the days after the training, we visited a number of Tahoy villages.   The clinics were spare:  little to offer in terms of medicines, equipment consists of wood slat beds, and refrigeration was not available.  The villages were from another time: too many naked kids to count, bamboo dwellings on stilts, no electricity, not a single store.  The people are still living as they have for centuries: rodents and roots supplement newly-introduced subsistence rice farming.



    I learned from the nurses that birthing is steeped in religious tradition, often with fatal consequences.  Due to animist religious beliefs, women and girls give birth alone in the forest.  The nurses suggested starting a “Safe Birth Outreach” program to educate women and families about the dangers of birthing alone, how to make birth safe using the Clean Birth Kits, the need for breastfeeding, etc…



    The nurses have also requested that CleanBirth.org develop illustrated posters to be hung in villages that caution against harmful behaviors in pregnancy (e.g. smoking), explain the warning signs of possible problems (e.g. pre-eclampsia) and show hygienic birthing practices using the Clean Birth Kits.

    Now, at home, I am committed to giving my Lao partner organization and the Tahoy nurses the funds and supplies they need to improve maternal and infant health.  I feel lucky to support them in their work.  Every mother deserves the chance to survive birth and to give her baby the best start.  For just a few dollars, we can make that happen.



    Please consider donating Clean Birth Kits at www.cleanbirth.org/donate.  Looking for a holiday gift that keeps on giving?  Give a donation of $25, which supports 5 mothers, and get a beautiful card to give as a gift: http://cleanbirth.org/holiday-cards/.
    Thank you for reading.

    Kristyn Zalota is the founder of CleanBirth.org, a non-profit working to improve maternal and infant health in Laos.  She is a doula and childbirth educator who lives with her husband and two kids in New Haven, CT. Read more about her trip to Laos on her blog: http://cleanbirth.org/blog/ 

    Thursday, December 6, 2012

    Mother Nature

    When I was an anthropology undergraduate student, I read and reviewed the book Mother Nature: Maternal Instincts and How They Shape the Human Species by anthropologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy. This book, along with Birth in Four Cultures, was a book that began the shaping of my interest in maternal health and anthropology of reproduction.


    Hrdy writes this book from a primatology, biology, women's studies, feminist, history, sociology, and evolutionary psychology perspective. It covers an enormous range of topics, from animal behavior to european history, all providing perspective on the assumption that maternal instinct is a defining element of a woman's nature. As the book's description notes, "Hrdy strips away stereotypes and gender-biased myths" and shows that mothers "deal nimbly with competing demands and conflicting strategies."

    I have gone back to this book many times since I first read it. It presented a lot of ideas to me for the first time; For example, placentophagia, the grandmother hypothesis, reasons behind wet-nursing and infanticide, and more.

    Below is my review of the book (c) 2006:

             What do langurs, prolactin, and an infant’s appearance have to do with being a loving mother? Everything, according to Sarah Blaffer Hrdy. Mother Nature: Maternal Instincts and How they Shape the Human Species is a book that, in no less than 700 pages combines biology, psychology, history, and anthropology to present a new argument in regards to the image of motherhood. Hrdy writes there is no such thing as maternal instinct. In actuality, there is such thing as maternal instinct, just not in the way that we usually think of it. Society assumes that all mothers have intrinsic caring behavior towards their offspring. Hrdy’s book presents the idea that a mother’s natural instinct is to make decisions about whether or not to birth and raise a child -based on personal situation – and then decide between their needs and that of their offspring.
    The idea of the self-sacrificing mother is a product of human cultural ideas, not the dominant reality. This idea is based on our ideas of morality (not nature or biology), which vary across cultures. We believe in our society that it is immoral and unnatural for a mother to not raise every child that she conceives. Hrdy deftly challenges this notion. She calls attention to the fact that in many cultures mothers practice infanticide regularly, and women throughout history and all of evolution have done so as well. She also points out that mothers do not instantly bond with their children, and not all mothers love every child unconditionally.
    There exist in our society some very serious conflicts for women: to be good mothers, but also to be women who need to work in order to help raise the children, or to follow personal ambition. Or, to not use birth control or abortion (in other words, to have every child), but not have enough daycare provided. Hrdy writes that life is hard and mothers cannot be blamed for the choices they sometimes have to make. She is a proponent of the idea that being pro-life is being pro-choice. I think that this is one the most interesting ideas that this book presents. A child will only survive if the mother or caretaker wants the child to live. Thus, the mother should be given the opportunity to decide when is the right time in her life for her to be able to successfully raise a child. Then that child will live a healthy and cared-for life, and not succumb to the uncertainties that go along with abandonment or not being fully cared for.
    There is a great deal of variety and complexity of behavior among mothers. A mother decides whether or not she can successfully raise a child based on her health, environment, and personal ambitions. Would the child die if she were to let it live? Would its life be hard? Does the mother have the money and resources to raise the child to be healthy and successful? Would raising the child harm the mother? Or keep the mother from pursuing her own goals? Would the investment made in one child at one point in time be better at another time for another child? Hrdy advocates the notion that since our society believes that every single human being deserves the right to live, and to kill an infant is bad, then something needs to be done to help mothers. In order for children not to be abandoned or killed mothers need help. More than euphoric hormones or an adorable infant to help a mother attach, she needs some form of help in order to make sure each child is cared for – such as allomothering. This is an important point, but it also makes it seem that Mother Nature is a long-winded endorsement of day care.
    Sarah Blaffer Hrdy uses many animals and primates as biological examples for types of mothering, such as langurs, spiders, mice, bees, and more. These animal mothers make certain logical choices about having and raising children. For instance, mice automatically abort a fetus by absorbing it whenever an infanticidal male is around and harm to the baby is inevitable. Here, maternal investment in the child would be a waste of resources that can be reserved for a more successful time later. These explanations are fascinating, and show great insight into the biological workings of motherhood. In the case of primate examples this can be relevant, however, with other animals it can have its drawbacks. Even if the explanations are interesting and make sense, do they have to do with us? Moreover, with all the seemingly relevant examples of primates which are supposed to tell us something about our own evolution as human mothers, she then writes that the two percent genetic difference between humans and apes is actually quite significant because of culture, language, and so on. Thus, if this difference is that significant, what do all her examples of them mean for us?
    Hrdy is very selective about what she uses to back up her argument. For instance, when she gives human examples most of them are of indigenous peoples. She is coming from a biology background, so this makes sense. The indigenous people probably live closer to how original humans lived when we were evolving, especially maternally (although its hard to say how things were evolutionarily because we were not there and cannot know for sure). Yet using these people as an example causes a problem because our societies now are so different from these original human societies. And culture, which plays a huge part, varies greatly. We no longer live in societies where allomothers are easy to find. Also, investment in children lasts a much longer time now that parents also save money to send children to school. Humans cannot catch up biologically with the advances we have made culturally, and it has a huge impact on childrearing.
                 These days, with the option of birth control, mothers choose to terminate investment in offspring if the conditions are not right for child raising. They choose to have fewer children with more chance of success. It is a question of quality vs. quantity. Wanting quality over quantity is healthier for the mother (though it may be the opposite of what males may desire). Hrdy has proven that this scenario is not unnatural, it just is not in harmony with society’s expectations, which wants a completely selfless mother full of love for every single child. By changing the way we think about motherhood, Mother Nature has an important impact on our society’s thinking. Mothers, fathers, scientists and politicians can all benefit from taking a look at maternal instinct in this way. Hrdy successfully refutes many female gender myths and assumptions. She does a great job at making the subject matter interesting not only to scientists but also to laypeople. She incorporates biology, psychology, history, and anthropology. Although it lacks a discussion about what adoption and love mean for evolution, Mother Nature covers a great deal of information.

    *Note: This review was written more than 6 years ago, and well before this topic became my passion. This review would probably turn out somewhat differently if I read and wrote about the book today.

    Saturday, December 1, 2012

    Weekend Movie: Nursing a Toddler in Public

    So, having to spend much of my time these days self-regulating myself to research and write my thesis means I also have more time to spend procrastinating on the internet. Because I've been doing a lot of searching for breastfeeding things and then get sucked into topics that I want to blog about.

    I came across this "What Would You Do?" video where the show does an experiment - they place a mom nursing a toddler in a coffee shop along with an actress who berates her for nursing a child that old. The idea is to get a reaction from the other patrons in the shop on the subject.

    This is somewhat of a follow-up to a "What Would You Do?" where a mom nursing in a restaurant gets yelled at by the manager.

    I have to admit that I was really nervous when I hit play...



    ... but this actually really gives me hope!

    What do you think of this video? Did the people react how you expected? 





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