My heart skipped a few beats when I read this in the latest US "Elle" Magazine (page 182, August 1997): From the Beauty Section, Godfrey's Guide ELLE's beauty editor gets her hair out of her face and has a baby "When I promised that my May column would be the last anyone would hear of pregnancy, now that G. and I have embarked on parenthood, I find I cannot resist a few more comments on the subject: Women often fear pregnancy for the havoc (read: weight gain) it supposedly wreaks on the body. But the truth is, the fastest way to a supermodelesque figure-by this I mean skinny except for death-defying cleavage--is to breast-feed. To simply maintain one's weight while breast-feding requires 600 additional calories a day ((300 more than even pregnant women get). It's the ultimate eat-all-you-want-all-the-time diet, and people stare suspiciously, wondering ((a) how you've done it and (b)whether you've had implants." Funny thing is that my friends marveled at my post partum weight loss (mind you I am hardly a skinny kind of a person 140 lbs, 5' 3" and with plenty o' hips and curves as most folks with African Descent have-finally with boobies to match the hips). I always let them know that I breastfeed my son Josh (who is now 6 months) and that I did NOTHING to limit my intake. Now when "Elle", "Essence (a US mag by and for African American Women)" or one of the fashion mags show some swingin' breastfeeding tops or style killer slings (sorry ya'll but the US mailorder companies that sell these do not excit me with the patterns or styles- floral prints and pink truly work my fashion nerves:)), I will know that breastfeeding has become something these mags promote and support. Pierrette Mimi Poinsett MD FAAP aka Fashion Snap Diva Modesto CA