Dear Friends on Lactnet,
Pat Young asked me whether I had something to do with The Milk of Human
Kindness, a new book about breastfeeding from the International Women Count
Network, published by Crossroads Books. The answer is Yes! I was a
collaborator on the first edition of this book, which came out in June of
2000. ILCA members may remember seeing it at the 2000 conference in
Washington, DC, where it was sold at the WABA booth. Or perhaps you remember
the late Dr. Wah Wong, who had worked for UNICEF for many decades, holding up
the book from the podium at the Sunday plenary session, saying that it could
help changes attitudes world-wide.
I didn't work on the second edition, but a lot of my writing from the first
edition is still there, especially in Chapter Three, and there is a nice
acknowledgement of my work. The four authors of the second edition (Solveig
Francis, Selma James, Phoebe Jones Schellenberg, and Nina Lopez-Jones) are
people I worked closely with in 1999 and 2000, and they are dedicated
defenders of breastfeeding.
The second edition features an expanded discussion of HIV and breastfeeding.
This problem area is a point which the drug and formula industry has taken
advantage of to drive a wedge into the breastfeeding movement. The book
raises lots of important questions about the global marketplace, the
increasing influence of corporations on governments and, under the Global
Compact initiated by Kofi Annan in 2000, on the United Nations and its
agencies.
These days the popular catch-word--even at the UN--is "public-private
partnership." This term gives me the shivers, because to me it says that
business, whose ultimate goal is to make money for investors, is more closely
allied than ever with government. Once upon a time, we the people thought we
could depend on government to honor higher values, such as defending human
rights, upholding a constitution, or pursuing social justice.
Breastfeeding is still "women's territory," a place where a woman can provide
food, care, and protection for her child, without having to be a target of
outside market forces and somebody else's profit motives. I believe very
strongly in defending that territory, individually and collectively. If you
do too, you will find lots to think about from reading the new edition of The
Milk of Human Kindness.
For more information, go to [log in to unmask] (Philadelphia, PA,
USA) or
[log in to unmask] (London, UK)
Chris Mulford, RN, IBCLC
working for WIC in New Jersey
Co-coordinator, Women & Work Task Force, WABA
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