Writers force Nestlé to scrap teenage book award
The independent
By James Morrison, Arts and Media Correspondent
23 February 2003
"Nestlé, the controversial Swiss-based multinational, has been forced to scrap plans to sponsor a new teenage book prize after a group of Britain's foremost children's writers told the company that they never want to be entered for the award. Gillian Cross, the author of The Demon Headmaster, and Carnegie Medal winners Melvin Burgess and Tim Bowler are among seven leading writers who have signed a letter stating that they "do not wish to be associated" with Nestlé's prize "in any way". The strongly worded letter, composed by Mr Burgess, accuses Nestlé of continuing to "violate" codes on the marketing of powdered baby milk in the Third World an issue that has seen Nestlé's products targeted by a decades-long international boycott. The latest protest has been backed by Philippa Pearce, the author of Tom's Midnight Garden, and the Whitbread Prize-winner Philip Pullman, who said he was minded to tell his publisher not to enter him for the award. He said: "When I next have a book out in two or three years' time and the publishers suggest it's put forward for this prize, I'll probably say 'No, I'd rather you didn't'.""
Sunday, February 23, 2003
Pregnant women keep on drinking
smh.com.au
By Julie Robotham, Medical Writer
February 24 2003
"More than half of Australian women drink alcohol while they are pregnant or breastfeeding, and a quarter smoke, according to the first national survey on drug use during pregnancy. While almost all of those who drank said they reduced their consumption compared with their non-pregnant intake, Australian women were still more than three times as likely as those in the United States to drink at all while pregnant. Just over a third of the 83 per cent of women who usually drank alcohol gave it up completely, leaving 53 per cent taking at least an occasional drink - compared with 15 per cent in the US." [This article doesn't break down the number of mothers who drank while pregnant vs breastfeeding - unfortunate. If we are going to ask mothers to nurse their babies for a minimum of 2 years, we're asking them to give up drinking for almost 3 years, which is a long time for a social drinker who doesn't have an alcohol problem. Is this based on evidence? - JC]
smh.com.au
By Julie Robotham, Medical Writer
February 24 2003
"More than half of Australian women drink alcohol while they are pregnant or breastfeeding, and a quarter smoke, according to the first national survey on drug use during pregnancy. While almost all of those who drank said they reduced their consumption compared with their non-pregnant intake, Australian women were still more than three times as likely as those in the United States to drink at all while pregnant. Just over a third of the 83 per cent of women who usually drank alcohol gave it up completely, leaving 53 per cent taking at least an occasional drink - compared with 15 per cent in the US." [This article doesn't break down the number of mothers who drank while pregnant vs breastfeeding - unfortunate. If we are going to ask mothers to nurse their babies for a minimum of 2 years, we're asking them to give up drinking for almost 3 years, which is a long time for a social drinker who doesn't have an alcohol problem. Is this based on evidence? - JC]
Saturday, February 22, 2003
UB Reporter: Gender-related behavior
University at Buffalo Reporter
Study finds exposure to certain toxins can affect behavior
By LOIS BAKER
Contributing Editor
"Women's exposure to environmental contaminants that mimic the activity of human sex hormones during prenatal development can affect the masculinity and femininity of their offspring, UB researchers have found. However, the results seem to point to a shared influence of the parents' own gender-related behavior and exposure to the contaminants, which can act as "endocrine disrupters," according to David E. Sandberg, associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics, and lead author on the research. The study appeared Friday in the journal Epidemiology. It supports the findings of an October study done in the Netherlands, which was the first to show a relationship between exposure to hormonally active agents in the environment and children's gender-role behavior. The UB study reports on gender behavior of boys and girls born to male and female anglers and their spouses who eat contaminated sport fish from the Great Lakes. Their findings show that in boys, the more fish the mother consumed, the more typically masculine the boy's behavior. Girls with one or more older siblings also showed more masculine behavior. In an interesting twist, results showed that girls who were breastfed longer showed more typically feminine behavior." [The article goes onto conclude that the researchers don't believe contaminants in breast milk have an impact, that only prenatal development is disrupted, and also that how the children were nurtured appears to impact their gender-related behaviour: "We speculate that mothers who breastfed are likely to be more traditional in their gender-role behaviour than women who don't, and that their daughters' behaviours reflect this." - JC]
University at Buffalo Reporter
Study finds exposure to certain toxins can affect behavior
By LOIS BAKER
Contributing Editor
"Women's exposure to environmental contaminants that mimic the activity of human sex hormones during prenatal development can affect the masculinity and femininity of their offspring, UB researchers have found. However, the results seem to point to a shared influence of the parents' own gender-related behavior and exposure to the contaminants, which can act as "endocrine disrupters," according to David E. Sandberg, associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics, and lead author on the research. The study appeared Friday in the journal Epidemiology. It supports the findings of an October study done in the Netherlands, which was the first to show a relationship between exposure to hormonally active agents in the environment and children's gender-role behavior. The UB study reports on gender behavior of boys and girls born to male and female anglers and their spouses who eat contaminated sport fish from the Great Lakes. Their findings show that in boys, the more fish the mother consumed, the more typically masculine the boy's behavior. Girls with one or more older siblings also showed more masculine behavior. In an interesting twist, results showed that girls who were breastfed longer showed more typically feminine behavior." [The article goes onto conclude that the researchers don't believe contaminants in breast milk have an impact, that only prenatal development is disrupted, and also that how the children were nurtured appears to impact their gender-related behaviour: "We speculate that mothers who breastfed are likely to be more traditional in their gender-role behaviour than women who don't, and that their daughters' behaviours reflect this." - JC]
Natural-born mother
February 22 2003
smh.com
"She has written numerous books on childbirth and female sexuality, but women are sharply divided about Sheila Kitzinger's thoughts on medical intervention, writes Karen Kissane. A woman at Sydney Airport heard that Sheila Kitzinger, the high priestess of the natural childbirth movement, was expected any moment. "I know her books," the woman said. "Tell her she's a liar. She says you can push them out so easy; it's not like that at all." What does Kitzinger say to women who are wheeled out of labour wards wanting to burn her book - or her? "They've got to be angry with somebody, and I suppose I'm as good ... as anyone," she says with unruffled British calm. "Women who've had distressing experiences in childbirth ... feel they've been cheated, and that ... it must be the women who write books about childbirth who cheated them. But of course it isn't, because we know that birth can be beautiful and exultant."" [Until I read this article I had no idea that women were "sharply divided" about Sheila Kitzinger. I find this "blame the messenger" attitude profoundly disturbing - that we could be so removed from what is normal in labour we would lash out out at people like Kinzinger for "lying" to us. - JC]
February 22 2003
smh.com
"She has written numerous books on childbirth and female sexuality, but women are sharply divided about Sheila Kitzinger's thoughts on medical intervention, writes Karen Kissane. A woman at Sydney Airport heard that Sheila Kitzinger, the high priestess of the natural childbirth movement, was expected any moment. "I know her books," the woman said. "Tell her she's a liar. She says you can push them out so easy; it's not like that at all." What does Kitzinger say to women who are wheeled out of labour wards wanting to burn her book - or her? "They've got to be angry with somebody, and I suppose I'm as good ... as anyone," she says with unruffled British calm. "Women who've had distressing experiences in childbirth ... feel they've been cheated, and that ... it must be the women who write books about childbirth who cheated them. But of course it isn't, because we know that birth can be beautiful and exultant."" [Until I read this article I had no idea that women were "sharply divided" about Sheila Kitzinger. I find this "blame the messenger" attitude profoundly disturbing - that we could be so removed from what is normal in labour we would lash out out at people like Kinzinger for "lying" to us. - JC]
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