Breast or Bottle? : Contemporary Controversies in Infant Feeding Policy and Practice / Amy Koerber.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Infant feeding and rhetoric : an overview -- From "wives' tales and folklore" to scientific fact : rhetorics of breastfeeding and immunity in the mid-twentieth century -- Articulating knowledge and practice : the rhetoric of infant-feeding policy -- Viral rhetoric : breast and bottle in current promotional discourse -- Rhetorical agency and resistance in the context of infant feeding -- Feminism, rhetoric, and breastfeeding : some concluding remarks.

Print version record.

This book presents a scholarly examination of the shift in breastfeeding recommendations. Through a close analysis of scientific and medical controversies and a critical examination of the ways in which medical beliefs are communicated to the public, the author exposes layers of shifting arguments and meaning that inform contemporary infant-feeding advocacy and policy. Whereas the phrase "breast or bottle" might once have implied a choice between two relative equals, human milk is now believed to possess unique health-promoting qualities. Although it is tempting to view this revision in medical thinking as solely the result of scientific progress, the author argues that a progress-based interpretation is incomplete. Epidemiologic evidence demonstrating the health benefits of human milk has grown in recent years, but the story of why these forms of evidence have dramatically increased in recent decades, the book reveals, is a tale of the dedicated individuals, coalitions, and organizations engaged in relentless rhetorical efforts to improve our scientific explanations and cultural appreciation of human milk, lactation, and breastfeeding in the context of a historical tendency to devalue these distinctly female aspects of the human body. The author demonstrates that the rhetoric used to promote breastfeeding at a given time and cultural moment not only reflects a preexisting reality but also shapes the infant-feeding experience for new mothers. The author's claims are grounded in extensive rhetorical research including textual analysis, archival research, and interviews with key stakeholders in the breastfeeding controversy. Her approach offers a vital counterpoint to other feminist analyses of the shift toward pro-breastfeeding scientific discourse and presents a revealing rhetorical case study in the complex relationship between scientific data and its impact on medical policy and practices. The resulting interdisciplinary study will be of interest to scholars and students of rhetoric, communication, women's studies, medical humanities, and public health, as well as medical practitioners and policymakers.

Use copy Restrictions unspecified star MiAaHDL

Electronic reproduction. [Place of publication not identified] : HathiTrust Digital Library, 2011. MiAaHDL

Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. MiAaHDL

http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212

digitized 2011 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL

English.

eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - Worldwide