Hello to all!  I am a new subscriber to Lactnet.  I am a former LLL
leader, living in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

In the past year, I thought that I was just about finished with
thinking/talking about breastfeeding, since my children are now 8 and 4,
and I expected my 4-year-old to wean around her 4th birthday like my elder
child had done.  She is 4 years and 1 week, and shows no interest in
weaning.

In addition, I am also the list-maintainer for the Extended
Breastfeeding List (which I know a lot of you know about).  Now that I
have Lactnet also, I am literally surrounded by post after post on
breastfeeding :)

I can comment briefly on the question about nursing in Saudi Arabia.
Someone who attended an LLL meeting I was at in 1990 (I think) mentioned
that when she lived there in 1983 (approx.), women were covered from head
to toe, but showed absolutely no compunction about nursing in public, in
front of both men and women.  She quoted her husband as saying, "You might
not be able to see their faces, but you can sure see their tits."  I have
read elsewhere that breastfeeding is very important in
Muslim society.  The Koran calls for 24 months of breastfeeding.  Some
countries, apparently, are concerned that following this edict will lead
to a reduced population growth rate, and are trying to find ways around
it.  This is a little vague, but it's been a while since I've done much
scholarly reading on breastfeeding.

I am really interested in the issue of postpartum depression, treatment,
and breastfeeding.  I didn't suffer myself, but I have seen/heard of this
situation, and would like to know about current therapies.

As a side note, I am working (sort of) on a book about historical
perceptions of the reproductive cycle (including lactation).  I find
16th, 17th, and 18th century medical books to be _very_ fascinating.
Plus, I am interested in the law and culture of breastfeeding.

I am a very recent law graduate.  I am currently holding one full-time job
and one part-time job.  I guess I could go on and on with this
introduction, but I think I'll stop here.

Lois Patterson
Maintainer, Extended Breastfeeding List
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