Hi All,
>I suspect, for example, that my relative liberalism about drinking  while
>breastfeeding and indeed at any other time has a cultural element in it
>(though my views are backed by our govt's dept of health, and by the major
>health professional organisations -  all of which probably share the same
>cultural bias as me!).

I will never forget being on holiday in France, pregnant with my first
baby. According to the advice at the time, I was in France unable to eat
pate, soft cheeses, salami or shellfish (I deserved a medal, I think).
Also, I had read that Americans avoided coffee and alcohol, so I was
doing that too (even though the British Dept. of Health aren't so
strict). So there I am, in a French restaurant in Vouvray, Loire, unable
to eat 99% of the menu, when an obviously heavily pregnant French woman
sat down opposite me, and preceeded to eat a lunch of pate, Brie,
salami-type stuff, washed down with a couple of glasses of red wine and
strong coffee! Later on, I got talking to her, and when I tactfully
enquired about this she said "You English worry too much! It is bad for
the baby to be so anxious!"

I hate to say it, but I feel she had a point :-)
--
Anna H. (Mummy to Emma, 17-1-95, Alice, 11-9-96, Samuel, 25-4-98)
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