Push Back. Guilt in the Age of Natural Parenting by Amy Tuteur. (HarperCollins NY 2016) INTRODUCTION I find it extraordinary for any medical doctor to have written a book containing such sweeping generalisations, allegations of vile motives by other health professionals, and minimally researched, provably untrue, and defamatory, assertions. Sadly, it is no longer rare for global publishers to print … Read More
Tuteur debate: Minchin 2
Tuteur debate: Minchin 2 is a two part reply for the historical record. It is in two parts. The first annotates what Amy Tuteur posted online on her Facebook page. The second part is a critique of her reply (Tuteur 1) to Minchin 1. Get a cuppa or a glass of wine and read on. See if you agree … Read More
Tuteur debate: Minchin 1
PREAMBLE FOR ANY SPECTATORS It is because infant feeding is such a powerful issue, and so important to global health, that I agreed to spend the time on this question set by Amy Tuteur, and to create a time-stamped secure permanent record on a dedicated website for future reference by historians of the “the Mommy Wars”, in which Amy has … Read More
Why am I (still) debating Amy Tuteur?
As you wait for my reply to her question, to be posted tonight at midnight, here’s an answer to a question I am being asked. Why would anyone persist through so many unilateral changes ot procedure and topic as Amy has tried to create, though so much rudeness and scorn from her? Well may you ask. I certainly didn’t intend … Read More
Tuteur/Minchin debate procedure
Debate procedure Maureen Minchin will follow This process has been independently designed after consulting tech experts to maximise accountability, minimise pointless emotive conflict, clearly delineate what is included and what is not, and create an independent record of all contributions. I am satisfied that the time spent on specialist consultation should achieve the end result of a complete archived conversation presenting both … Read More
Tuteur Debate Update: Progress?
An Update: The Skeptical Obstetrician, and her challenge to ‘debate’. What has happened so far. March 3, 2019. Dr Amy Tuteur intruded rudely on my Facebook page to challenge me to a debate – as she has challenged other breastfeeding advocates, individuals and groups. (Who sensibly refuse to engage with her.) I agreed to consider making arrangements for a moderated … Read More
Agreed Rules and Common Ground for Tuteur debate
PROCEDURAL MATTERS FOR THE DEBATE Can you agree to these Rules for the debate, Amy Tuteur? Unless you do, I will not go ahead over the three days. As repeatedly stated from March onwards, I am not willing to have the debate hosted on Facebook, your page or mine, or any page you set up for the purpose, and I … Read More
The Bottle, the Breast and the State: Oakley review
The Bottle the Breast and the State. The politics of infant feeding in the United States. By Maureen Rand Oakley. (Lexington Books 2015) I like this book, which should be read by those in mother support, breastfeeding advocacy and feminist academia with the time to do so. I support Oakley’s approach, as I welcome any book which urges feminists to work for … Read More
ELF Feeds: a fairy story analysed: part 1
EARLY LIMITED FORMULA FEEDS: A FAIRY STORY ANALYSED (from Milk Matters, p.113-6) [Another post will comment on this group’s newest published research asap.] … a tiny study of just forty mothers336 may have persuaded some (who didn’t read it carefully) that infant formula is harmless, even beneficial, because it supports maternal breastfeeding…. The study authors’ conclusion: giving early limited formula … Read More
Intolerant Bodies: a history of immune research
Intolerant bodies: a history of auto immunity. Anderson W, Mackay IR. (Johns Hopkins Press 2014) A focussed partial review and commentary.. This readable and illuminating text by an historian and an immunologist outlines the historical process of uncovering the workings of the immune system. Finding this book was for me finding a missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle that is … Read More
Hard to swallow: a book review
Swallow This: serving up the food industry’s darkest secrets by Joanna Blythman (Fourth Estate London 2015) There are many interesting books on food. There are few fascinating detailed readable ones on food processing. This one is a must read for those feeling brave or curious. It is not a reassuring one for those who believe that regulators guard our food supply, … Read More
Overselling infant formula: Lactivism
Definitely Overselling Infant Formula: Lactivism by Courtney Jung An overdue review Professor Courtney Jung’s Lactivism is sensationally subtitled: how feminists and fundamentalists, hippies and yuppies, and physicians and politicians made breastfeeding … Read More
Breast intentions: a quick review
Well, I’ve now read every page of Allison Dixley’s Breast Intentions: how women sabotage breastfeeding for themselves and others, highlighter and pen in hand. And then I read all the reviews I found online, both by people who understood what she was saying, and other people who clearly misrepresented what I heard her saying in those … Read More