Great story.  When I read this post I was reminded of a seminar I went to
this week on the Cochrane Collaboration.  Archie Cocharane, who was the
insiration for the work of collecting meta-analyses and evaluating trials
systematically cited two major influences on his thinking.  When he worked
in a POW field hospital in Salonika, they had only things like asprin adn
disinfectant.  He expected many deaths but only a few died -- mostly from
gunshot wounds.  So, he wondered, what effect did all the fancy drugs he had
at home have.  ONe incident was with a Russian who was dying in agony,
shouting and calling.  AC had nothing to give him, but he took him in his
arms and the Russian immediately calmed down and died peacefully a little
while later.  So AC started to think of care as an intervention.

This is the spirit which underlies the Cochrane reviews.

(Thanks to Gill Gyte of the Preganacy and Childcare Group for the
anecdotes).

Magda SAchs
Breastfeeding Supporter, BfN, UK

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