Unlatched

April 18, 2016
Journalist Grayson makes her mothering experience into a research project in this book-length justification for her choice to breastfeed her daughter into toddlerhood. To lend her arguments context, Grayson looks to historical precedent, from wet-nursing in 3000 B.C.E. to Industrial Revolution-era animal milk-based substitutes, and to other countries, taking a press trip to Taipei and Skyping with a health expert in Hanoi. Closer to home, she interviews an attachment parenting expert, a onetime door-to-door infant formula salesman, a microbiologist studying the composition of breastmilk, and even her own parents, all in order to understand how American culture has come to regard breastfeeding as admirable but difficult. Grayson’s well-researched history lessons are mixed with plenty of anecdotes about her own children, but her firm focus on proving her point, coupled with her status as a freelancer, might make her unrelatable to both full-time parents and those navigating office life. Agent: Mel Parker, Mel Parker Books.

May 15, 2016
A new analysis of the controversy surrounding women breast-feeding their children.For millennia, breast-feeding has been the primary method of feeding children, and both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization recommend six months of "exclusive breastfeeding (no additional foods or fluids, not even water)...for optimal growth, development, and health." Environmental journalist Grayson provides abundant interesting research to show the evolution of breast-feeding through the centuries to the present day. She interviews women from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, including Orthodox Jews and mothers in Taiwan, France, and Mongolia, and she adds her own experiences with breast-feeding her two daughters to show how different cultures view this method of feeding. Since there are abundant health advantages, the milk is readily available, and it's free, the author wondered why so many women don't breast-feed. She clearly explains how many women gradually shifted from this ready-made way to feed children to using animal milk, wet nurses, and then formula as alternatives, the pros and cons, and the health consequences for children and mothers as a result. She discusses the birth of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children and the rise in the number of lactation consultants and groups advocating for breast-feeding. The author also examines the difficulty that women who work face when they need to pump milk and are not provided with clean, private spaces to do so, and she offers suggestions on how this might change. She delves into the sexual overtones that many cultures have laid on the breast that influence and affect how men, in particular, view breast-feeding, especially when a child has reached a certain age. For women who breast-feed, Grayson's research offers ample reasons why they should continue for as long as possible; for those women trying to choose between breastfeeding or formula, the author will help sway them toward the breast. Persuasive arguments backed by scientific research that clearly demonstrate the benefits of breast-feeding for as long as possible.

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Starred review from September 1, 2016

Environmental journalist Grayson provides insight into the present-day "mommy wars" and the government's role in the ongoing controversy about whether "breast is best." She transcends today's conversation about whether formula-fed babies are less healthy, and, if working mothers are to blame, instead probing deep into the history of many cultures. Moving into an investigation of Western society, she considers early 20th-century professional literature claiming that "It is easier to control cows than women," eventually segueing into the impact of current state-funded programs that offer free formula to new mothers such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). VERDICT Grayson is an accomplished writer whose own story is woven throughout her careful research. Her global perspective is a welcome addition to this important debate. Unequivocally recommended.

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