New Breastfeeding Books
Merchandise • Bookstore • Affiliates

Milk, Money & Madness: The culture and politics of breastfeeding

Naomi Baumslag, MD and Dia L. Michels, published by Bergin & Garvey, November 1995, 288 pages, 42 illustrations, $26.95, ISBN 0-89789-407-3

This fascinating, controversial book challenges the Madison Avenue assertion that the ability to bottle-feed a child formula is a liberating feather in women's caps and explores the wide array of benefits to mother, child, family and society of breastfeeding. Weaving in the rich history of breastfeeding, information on nursing from around the globe, the biology of breastfeeding and the battle to replace breastmilk with artificial foods, the authors examine the role of breastmilk in human survival and trace the transformation of the breast into that of solely a sexual object. Milk, Money and Madness is richly illustrated with numerous photographs, drawings and charts.

Dr. Richard Jolly, Acting Executive Director of UNICEF, wrote the foreword. The book has been recommended by Dr. Michael C. Latham (Professor of International Nutrition, Cornell University), Lee Ann Deal (Executive Director, La Leche League International), Penny Van Esterik (Associate Professor of Anthropology, York University), and many others.

In addition to the book, the authors have also prepared a "Test Your Breastfeeding IQ" Quiz, which addresses many issues about breastfeeding in a pamphlet format and includes charts on the benefits of breastfeeding for the child, the mother, and the community. The quiz, a $1.50 value, is free to anyone who sends his or her street address to co-author Dia Michels and mentions The Breastfeeding Advocacy Page on the World Wide Web.

This is the second collaboration for Dr. Baumslag and Ms. Michels. Their first book, A Woman's Guide to Yeast Infections, was published in 1992.

For further information (or to order the book or more quizzes), contact Dia Michels, PO Box 15348, Washington, DC 20003-0348, or DiaMichels@aol.com, or 202-546-2356-fax.

Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives

edited by Katherine Dettwyler, PhD and Patricia Stuart-Macadam, PhD.

A diverse and engrossing collection of essays by eminent anthropologists, physicians, and other scientists, presenting -- in language accessible to the public -- the intimate nexus between the biological and cultural aspects of breastfeeding.  The book can be ordered from La Leche League or directly from the publisher, Aldine de Gruyter, 200 Saw Mill River Road, Hawthorne, NY 10532, Tel: (914) 747-0110, Fax: (914) 747-1326 . The price for the book is $31.95 in paperback, $65.95 in cloth. Postage and handling is $4.00 for the first book and $1.00 for each additional book. Foreign orders require double the postage and handling. New York State residents must add sales tax. All orders must be prepaid.

For a more complete description of the book, including the table of contents, click here.