Does anyone have the Mothering Magazine article on AIDS?  Have tried to
find it at a couple of local HF stores, to no avail.  Looked on the Web -
not there.  I would really like to read it.  It disturbs me to think that
a woman would turn her back on a therapy that has shown such great
results in preventing the prenatal transmission of HIV, at least that is
what I have read in the medical journals and general press.  Yes, there
are a lot of side effects to the anti-HIV drugs, but compared to
transmitting a fatal disease to your child, how bad could they be?  As
for the breastfeeding part, to tell you the truth, I am still debating
that one - for sure, the baby should be with mom.  Yes, there are many
hazards to using formula - but in this country, will they outweigh even a
small percentage chance that the baby will contract HIV?  If the baby is
already infected, the immune properties of the milk will give the baby a
great advantage.  On the other hand, I remember reading once that
constantly increasing the viral load (through unsafe sex or perhaps
breastfeeding?) in an infected person leads to worse outcomes.

BTW, I am a long time user of vitamins/herbs, have been reading
Prevention and Organic Gardening for the last 25 years (so great to see
that all this stuff is finally impacting the general public and not just
us old hippies) and am all for using any alternative therapy available
that might help in any given situation.  What worries me is when
traditonal medicine, which may have a good cure/treatment record, is
completely abandoned.  I am not saying that alternative treatments alone
won't work - we all know that they can, and very effectively, but when a
very nasty, incurable, fatal disease is concerned - well, it just makes
me very uncomfortable.

On a lighter note, Happy Holidays to everyone.  Congratulations to all of
you with newborns or new-to-be borns.  Also, renewed strength and a
Healthy New Year to anyone struggling with ongoing illness - I have been
coping with a lot of nasty but temporary illnesses these past few months
and it has given me a renewed respect for those who must face this on a
more permanent basis.  Peace and God Bless.

Warmly, (on a very cold day)
Sharon Knorr, BSMT, LLLL, IBCLC in Newark, New York (near Rochester)
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