In the news and/or my e-mail inbox:
* A new book "Sanctioning Pregnancy: A Psychological Perspective on the Paradoxes and Culture of Research" by Harriet Gross and Helen Pattinson. From their description: "Sanctioning Pregnancy offers a unique critique of sociocultural constructions of pregnancy and the ways in which it is represented in contemporary culture, and examines the common myths which exist about diet, exercise and work in pregnancy, alongside notions of risk and media portrayals of pregnant women." Google Books preview here.
* The FDA will be investigating nutritional claims by infant formula manufacturers.
* When do breastfed babies need extra iron?
* The Full Spectrum Doula Network (FSDN) has several members conducting research who are looking for participants - from the FDSN newsletter:
* FSDN member Ryan Pryor is conducting a study and oral history project of queer and gender non-conforming birth workers (link here)
* FSDN member Laurel Ripple Carpenter is conducting interviews of full spectrum and radical doulas for an ethnographic study at Burlington College and Mesa State College (link here)
* FSDN member Monica Brasile is conducting an online survey of doulas for her PhD research in Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Iowa. She's especially interested in representing the voices of radical and full spectrum doulas. (link here)
* Erica Varlese is conducting interviews of doulas who offer pro-bono or volunteer services or who work specifically with marginalized groups of women. (link here)
I did an interview with Laurel and it was a great experience (and I'm really looking forward to reading her final product). If you're a doula who falls into one of these categories, please consider helping out!
"Sanctioning Pregnancy" looks like a really interesting read. I'm always fascinated by the role that culture plays in the decisions we make about big-deal events (pregnancy, parenting, education, etc). Recently I finished reading a book called "Our Babies, Ourselves" that discusses parenting through the cultural lens, and how Western parents tend to care for babies in a way that is not in the babies' best interest. It's an older book (1998) and so several of the things the author discusses are things that are turning around in our culture right now (co-sleeping, extended/exclusive breastfeeding, baby-wearing, etc), but it was still a fascinating read. She's a little unfavorable toward natural birth, but only very briefly, and I was able to mostly get over it by the end of the book, although it really bothered me for some time. Anyway, I'm definitely sticking this one on my Amazon wish list!
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