I just finished reading and must recommend a newly-published book, "Misconceptions - Truth. Lies and the Unexpected on the Journey to Motherhood" by Naomi Wolf. Naomi Wolf is the bestselling-author of "The Beauty Myth", which helped to launch a new wave of feminism in the early 1990s and was named one of the most significant books of the 20th century.

I think this book may be important in bringing to the general public the issues that we so frequently discuss within our own circles and here on LactNet,.

Naomi eloquently describes her, and her friends', journey through pregnancy, birth, and new motherhood. She experiences the "typical" american hospital birth ("too slow" labour, pitocin, epidural, c-section). She feels isolated and depressed at home alone with the new baby after the delivery. The established balance in her marriage shifts. She struggles with childcare.

In regards to breastfeeding, throughout the book she refers to friends nursing the baby, or preparing and washing bottles, interchangeable and seemingly without value judgement. The last chapter specifically refers to the experience of breastfeeding, and in her beautiful description of her relationship with her infant daughter, you know the she "gets it" - that it is about "more than the milk". However, in her only reference to LLL in the book, she calls them "Lactation Fascists" and "Milk Missionaries" because of their unrealistic expectations for breastfeeding that most the women she knows, could not fulfill. The author has much more anger towards the lack of truthful information and informed consent that she experienced with her medicalized birth, than with her breastfeeding.

She does seem to get to the issues surrounding birth, PPD, breastfeeding, and fairness in marriage, childcare and work in America today. She quotes Ina May Gaskin, Sheila Kitzinger, Christine Northrup, and Ann Critenden throughout.

She ends with a "A Mother's Manifesto," a list of things that need to be changed and could be done. She calls for a new "Motherhood Feminism:" a mother's movement that would be a coalition of mothers, fathers, cargivers, women's groups, consumer groups, unions, etc, that would pressure government and employers to take parental programs seriously.

"It will be a revolution when we don't just say that mothers are important. It will be a revolution when we finally start treating motherhood and caring for children in general as if it were truly the most important task of all".

I relate to Naomi's experience in that I never really felt any discrimination in education, workplace or society, until I wanted to be a mother. I feel I need to fight for my rights to be the kind of mother my children need, and that I need to be. My feeling (and hope) is that as this generation of well-educated, saavy feminist women become mothers and have similar experiences, they will use their anger, skills and connections toward changing society.

Janice Reynolds

Consumer Representative, Breastfeeding Committee for Canada

Founder, Moms for Milk Breastfeeding Consumer Advocacy Network

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