Anyone read this book? What did you think?

kathleen1966

I haven't read it yet, but I am already irritated by the review. I guess I need to read it. WHAT studies have been done regarding children who nursed having the issues mentioned due to toxins in the breast milk?  Also, implying that large breasts and obesity are causing breast cancer?  I can see on this site that not everyone is large breasted and obese. I suppose I need to read the book but I am just plain irritated by it before I have even read it. It feels like propaganda for fear, blame, etc.....I nursed both of my kids for three years each and to hear that this was basically feeding them toxins that could cause future cancers for them just pisses me off. Well, like I've said, I haven't read the book yet.  Should I read it? Here is the link to the book, "Breasts", by Florence Williams

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/books/review/breasts-by-florence-williams.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Jomama2

Interesting review, but I think I'll pass up reading the book.  After reading so many books on our corrupted food supply, I don't think I want to face the possibility that my breast milk may have poisoned my two children.  I don't know who or what to believe any longer...about what to eat, supplements to take, etc.  It's all confusing and contradictory. And I don't need any more guilt about what I may have done to cause my own cancer. Thanks for the post, however. Joan

kathleen1966

I agree with you 100% Jomama2! Who knows what to believe anymore, other than EVERYTHING and ANYTHING you do will some-how cause cancer....even "mother's milk"....I guess I should pass as well..but there are many who will read this.  I feel I should read it to check the sources for the facts...

kayfh

I have.  I just read this book and I think you should too.  It is a very interesting, very disturbing outline of the toxic chemicals which we are exposed to each and every day.  Florence Williams isn't trying to scare us, I don't think, she is just trying to help us, all of us understand, that we don't KNOW what causes breast cancer, though there are many clues, so how in hell can we prevent, much less cure cancer.  She wants us to wake up to the reality of the toxic soup we live in, in our homes, in our places of work, even when we go for a walk in the seemingly benign country.

Yes, I breastfed both of my daughters, yes my eldest daughter is now breastfeeding her 6 month old daughter, we all eat healthy whole foods, we try to walk softly on this planet.  But I have upholstered furniture in my home.  I buy cleaning products that are labelled green, but are as I am coming to realize just greenwashing.  

The book isn't about engendering guilt, it is a call to action. 

kathleen1966

Sounds good Kayfh!  Sounds like I should NOT jump to conclusions without reading the book first. But it is frustrating that there are things in our environment that we have little control over, especially if you are a person who simply cannot afford to shop exclusively at Whole Foods. I will read the book!

kayfh

I cannot afford to shop at WholeFoods or at its equivalent.  What I want is honest labelling on products so that we can get rid of the products that endanger our health by leaving them on the shelf.

Momine

 I don't shop at Whole Foods, because we don't have one in Greece :P Seems to me that if you work from actual, real, basic food stuffs, that ought to help a little. 

kathleen1966

Yes, I want this as well. I am going to read the book.....

kayfh

Food is really easy. It's hair care, body care, house cleaning, driving cars, swimming in swimming pools, furnishing, building homes that is way harder.

Leah_S

The issue is not breasts per se but the dangers of environmental pollutants.

That said, if I hadn't been so selfish as to breastfeed my kids I would have had the golden opportunity to give them formulas made from cow's milk, which of course is so pure and wholesome and has no environmental contaminants (and there are fairies at the end of the garden).

Leah

kayfh

Leah. Was Florence Williams telling us that breastfeeding was not a good idea? I don't think so, I think she was making sure that we know that Nature's perfect food for our babies wasn't as pure as we thought. There really is no viable alternative to breastfeeding (I am sure that statement will engender debate) but women who are breastfeeding are an incredible constituency with the potential to change the world, slowly, one baby at a time, one family at a time. (ok so maybe I do believe in those fairies )

Kay

Leah_S

Actually, Kay, she probably wasn't telling us breastfeeding wasn't a good idea. It seems to me the book is more an alert on environmental poisons than anything else.

Unfortunately many people will see it as advice to bottlefeed. I do remember reading about many women deciding not to breastfeed because they were worried about passing on AIDS and HIV. This was totally illogical since the women who said this did not have AIDS! People unfortunately get the wrong message very often. I very much hope this doesn't happen now with this book.

Leah

kathleen1966

I doubt the book will have the power to push women towards not breastfeeding, unless they were really not planning on breastfeeding anyway. But it may help them be more careful in terms of what they are exposing themselves to while they are breastfeeding and this is good. I am almost certain my breast was full of cancer while I nursed my youngest for nearly three years. I asked the oncologist if he could have been exposed to cancer cells and she said if he was, they would never survive the acid in my stomach. I think it will be an interesting read.

kayfh

Oh Leah, there will always be women and their partners who seize any excuse any justification for their decision not to breastfeed their babies.  It is sometimes hard work to get breastfeeding established, women sometimes have problems with mastitis, sometimes there is a supply issue. sometimes it just hurts so much.  But the key is to get help, and believe me, in most of the world there is someone who can help. So yes, I know that there are those who will use the information about environmental pollutants as an additional justification for their decision not to breastfeed.  

Even in this day and age there are still grandmothers, and sisters, and even nurses, out there who did not breastfeed their babies who somehow feel that they need to discourage anyone else who wants to give her baby her best start, I guess it makes them feel better about their decisions.  That is so sad.  If only they had had help and real information about all of the benefits to baby and mother that accrue. 

peggy_j

Here's a link to a podcast interview with the author on NPR's Fresh Air. (I haven't read the book yet but plan to get it from my library)

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/16/152818798/breasts-bigger-and-more-vulnerable-to-toxins

 

To be honest, I procrastinated on listening to it cuz I thought it would be more bad news.  But it wasn't the huge downer I expected. As Leah_S mentioned, the author speaks a lot about the environmental toxins (which we may want to eliminate for many reasons, not just cuz they are in our breastmilk). She said breasts get more tumors than any other organ in our body (beside skin) because they act as sponges for toxins; all the fat cells absorb the toxins (so does the fat around the liver). So in a way, our breasts are the "canary in the coal mine" for how our bodies are responding to environmental toxins. I thought the author also had some good news in the interview. Many of the toxins (like BPA) can flush from your body in 24-36 hours. The author (a science writer) did an experiment on herself and daughter to see the impact of their at-home chemical detox, avoiding plastics, many home-care products, etc. (so it's not just food). They were able to eliminate many in just a few days. So that seems interesting. (and worth trying. I wonder how much it costs to do the urine tests)

 

FWIW, early in the interview the author said she continued to breastfeed, and later mentioned all the good things in breastmilk, so, at least based on that radio interview, she definitely believes there are more benefits than harm. She even predicts that some medicines will be developed based on our scientific understanding of breast milk. So she's not anti-breastfeeding at all. FWIW, she also made some lifestyle changes (like no longer putting plastic in the microwave).  So, if you're curious, I'd say listen to the podcast. It was better than I feared.