Having Faith...strongly recommend this book

[lojoma]

Hi, writing to recommend a book called Having Faith, its a new book by Sandra Steingraber. She is an ecologist/biologist and its a chronicle of her pregnancy and birth. Also excellent historical analysis of DES, methylmercury poisoning in Japan, obstetrical practices etc.

It is moving, informative, and wholly interesting, with wonderful information on nursing and benefits of breastmilk. She also discusses pollutants in breastmilk and research thereof. She is obviously a skilled researcher but also very humanly engaging. She describes how she nursed to age two and came to the tenets of AP, co-sleeping, extended nursing, from a good sense, scientific background and reaped the emotional benefits almost unexpectedly.

A great anecdote is that she was asked to speak on enviornmental pollutants after her child was born. She started the lecture by passing around a bottle of her own breastmilk "realizing that many had never seen it before" and then started the lecture with "Now I want to talk about the food chain." I think Mothering should feature her or at least review her book, maybe I should send them a note.

[javamama]

yes yes yes!!

I came here to see if anyone was discussing this book. I knew there would be someone who had read it! I am actually only half way through, but it is so thought provoking, I've been trying to get dh to read it just to have some discussion...........

I think the mothering article would be a good idea. I really think all mothers would relate to and be captivated by this book!

Heater

[flutemandolin]

I finished reading this book just before my third child was born, and I highly recommend it. Very well researched, like her previous book "Living Downstream", which discusses the links between environmental contaminants and cancer, but this one is a bit more personal and poetic. Her description of the birth of her child was very powerful. Every breastfeeding mother needs to know how the health of her child is being threatened by factors that are largely beyond our control. Steingraber brings up a good argument: We are told by the government to limit our consumption of fish because it is contaminated, yet the government allows the processes that cause the contamination to continue. Why should we have to compromise, not the polluters?
One thing that disturbs me is that I have not heard a single word about this book in the mainstream press. It should be right up there with "Silent Spring" and "A Sand County Almanac". Also, I could not find it in several large chain bookstores and one independent bookstore. Hmmm....