Just to show how our specialism can be studied in all sorts of ways, here is a recent paper from a team of social geographers, published in the geographical academic journal 'Area'. The word 'space' is apparently a technical term in geography - it means (I think!) the social, cultural and topographic setting where a behaviour takes place. I haven't read the whole paper, but have heard a preentation of it by the team. Their study reveals that place has an influence on infant feeding. Put simply, we know that (in the UK) social classes 1 and 2 are the most likely to bf. But social classes 1 and 2 in the North East of England are *less likely* than social classes 1 and 2 in the South East. You can have a mother with an identical educational, social, financial etc profile, and her feeding choice can differ according to where in the UK she happens to be at the time. This is something like the discussion we had about the Irish and the Bangladeshis a couple of weeks ago. Heather Welford Neil NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK ************************************************ Infant feeding in North East England: contested spaces of reproduction Area; Volume 33: Issue 3 Rachel Pain: Department of Geography, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE Cathy Bailey: Department of Geography, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE Graham Mowl: Division of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Northumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST Abstract: Decisions about infant feeding are commonly viewed as an issue of personal choice made in the light of information about the benefits of breastfeeding. A pilot study of first-time parents' decisions and experiences in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, suggests that local cultural contexts, in particular how men and women are seen to be parenting in different spaces, have a profound influence on infant feeding. *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html