It's been years since I read Maher's book, but as I recall, many of the
chapters asserted things with no evidence or data to back them up (the
chapter on Iceland was particularly bad in that regard -- making statements
about what women did in Iceland with respect to infant feeding in prior
centuries with no indication of where the information came from, and some of
it was so bizarre as to be unbelievable that any babies could have survived
on such a regimen).  Also, Maher's take is that breastfeeding is too hard on
women, especially Third World women, who shouldn't be expected to HAVE TO
breastfeed their babies when they themselves are not always in the best of
nutrition or health.  She thinks formula feeding is fine.  She doesn't seem
to be aware that many of these children, who are so very precious to women
in these cultures, would die if not breastfed.  She also doesn't seem to be
aware that if a woman doesn't breastfeed her children, she's just going to
get pregnant again right away, and that will leave her even more
nutritionally depleted.  She just is basically clueless about the realities
of women's lives in other cultures than her own (Maher lives in Italy).

And remember that while many Third World women live in "poverty" as defined
by how much "stuff" (material goods) one owns, and while some of them are
malnourished and some of them are unhealthy -- there are also many many
women who are doing just fine.  They may live in mud houses and not own a
bicycle, let alone a car, and have only two changes of clothes, and sit on a
carved wooden stool, and spend hours each day doing hard physical labor, BUT
they are also surrounded by the love of family and extended family and
friends.  Do not pity them because they don't have a lot of stuff.  They
pity people in develped countries who live isolated lives without lots of
children and family around.

Kathy Dettwyler

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