<It is a comment of reverence and
respect for those that went before me blazing trails in a field of women and
children's health and have made magnificent changes.>

yes it is a mark of respect, when i are need to discus a case with someone i
choose to ask someone with more experience, not less - but consider the
words of dave sackett - a giant in the world of evidence based medicine:

"There are still far more experts around than is healthy"

"It then dawned on me that experts like me commit two sins that retard the
advance of science and harm the young. Firstly, adding our prestige to our
opinions gives the latter far greater persuasive power than they deserve on
scientific grounds alone."
 http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/320/7244/1283

he refers to research papers being given more credibility because of the
status of the author and not on the quality of the research - now haven't we
all seen this effect? isn't this also part of the harm of commercial
organisations - its in their interest to put a glossy spin on their own
research as they have to impress the financial markets about the potential
of their product. the research if published by a.n. other et al would be
seen for what it was.

phyll buchanan
breastfeeding supporter
the breastfeeding network
nr Reading UK

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