Hi, Diane. I agree with Kathy A. in that publishers care about
your making money for them, and that's about it. Two suggestions:
(1) read the contract with the publisher very carefully, and (2)
insist on putting in a disclaimer. Since lactation consulting is
not a recognized health specialty or profession in Israel, I
felt, and still feel, very vulnerable, so I made sure that it got
in one of the front pages, although my editor thought I was
dotty. I wrote "This book is directed toward instructing women
who are interested in breastfeeding; it is not meant to replace
medical supervision or therapy." Karen Pryor and Gale Pryor
("Nursing Your Baby", 1991) wrote this disclaimer: "The authors
of this book are not physicians and the ideas, procedures, and
suggestions in this book are not intended as a substitute for the
medical advice of a trained health professional. All matters
regarding your health require medical supervision. Consult your
physician before adopting the suggestions in this book, as well
as about any condition that may require diagnosis or medical
attention. The authors and publishers disclaim any liability
arising directly or indirectly from the use of this book." IMO,
this sounds like it was written by someone who was burnt, so
can't really criticize, although I really feel like this is going
a bit too far....especially about consulting your physician
before doing anything suggested in the book - what if s/he is not
bf friendly?
Ooops, waitaminute. Just looked at an earlier addition of Pryor's
"Nursing Your Baby", from 1973, and guess what? no disclaimer at
all. I'll bet she *was* burnt! Anybody know the story? Lactivists
out there?
Judy Knopf in Beer Sheva, Israel