> I had a client whose baby wasn't a sleeper and wanted to be carried all > day. I did my best to get her to use a sling, even loaning one so that she > could see how great it was. Baby loved it, and slept between feedings > allowing mom to do some things around the apartment. But she gave it back > to me, finally admitting that the above book had scared her away from using > it. > > I am always amazed at Americans who see only what *we* do, and what we've > done in the last 50 years, as the only healthy way to live with babies. > There is a constant effort to make science out of our anti-child behaviors, > and not to see the rest of the world and their history *at all.* > > All of these practices are programmed to foster the sense of isolation and > detachment that pervades our American culture. Again and again I hear my > clients saying that their HCPs warned them against getting too attached to > their babies. And again and again the mothers heed the warning, against > their natural instincts. ... > Perhaps you could steer her to Dr. Sears' The Baby Book. His chapter on > baby-wearing is very covincing--and I have seen some of his children and > they aren't misshapen of body. Another _excellent_ book is "Our Babies, Ourselves", by Meredith Small, which addresses all of the above, from an anthropological survey point of view. I imagine that you may already be familiar with this book, and that it has probably been discussed regularly on this list, but I feel compelled to mention it. It's an _excellent_ treatise - in fact we intend to make it required reading for our own childbirth classes, once we start teaching! Anne Jessica - 8/28/78 William - 4/11/98 Tazi, Nika & Ryzhik - our canine kids Shakespeare & Sonnet - our kitties I am: Mom, Attorney, Professor, Childbirth Educator (in training) Founder & Director - Western N.Y. Mother's Milk Drive (1978-1979) My own favourite baby-related tips: http://www.dadsrights.org/annie/kidtips.html *********************************************** 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