Last week I was walking down the road, and gasped as I saw a mannikin dress which was high fashion when I was 14. I still have a sepia-shaded photo of me in it. The only thing that's changed is the fabric. Not that the human body changes it's design, other than self-adjusted additions or removals. I thought, "How true, old becomes new." The very next day I was stunned to read the New Zealand Herald's report of Dr Mary Fewtrell's idiotic article in the BMJ. It took me back to a day, nearly 30 years ago, when a Middlemore paediatrician gave me a lecture with an almost identical message. I thought to myself, "I wonder where Fewtrell's head has resided all these years, as well as her three co-authors?"
As it happened, neither of our two children would take the sorts of solids I'm sure Fewtrell would recommend, until 11 months. The plunket nurse panicked her head off. I suggested she take valium. The doctor intoned that my 7 month fully breastfed child would have mental damage from lack of iron, as I fought him from dismantling the doctor's bookcase, and tried to redirect his constant "Whasis?" A child who was stringing words together long before he got solids.
My only concession to these people who believe myth,s was to allow them to blood test me to see if I was anaemic, and I was not. Neither were either of my rampantly growing children.
By the time our second son arrive, the medics had calmed down somewhat. The proof was in the pudding. But it irked me then, and irks me now. And it irks me more to see that this supposed research isn't research at all. It's an utterly cherry picked ill-informed opinion piece. And that BMJ published it, shows how rapidly down the mediocrity drain that medical journal is sinking. fortunately, the rapid responses take the authors to task quite well, but which newspapers have reported that?
Those who have read my books, blogs and heard me speak, know that I know my stuff on breastmilk, and will revisit a few important breastmilk facts in future blogs.
The next day, what did we see in the New Zealand Herald, but an article with the headlines Baby food firms link revealed. ?
I laughed and laughed and laughed. How droll.
This is the newspaper which parrots anything which comes out of vaccine defenders' mouths and yet I've never seen them write an article about all the tills which New Zealand vaccine defenders happily help themselves from. Like Dr Lance Jennings, the person turned to, to help hype up the flu vaccines, and promote Kleenex.
It's alright to ignore vested interests in articles on vaccines, because vaccines are untouchable and everyone believes that without them, they will die. Global warming withstanding. And "the plan" decrees that no doubts may exist.
Oh, yes. Global warming. What a future bonanza for companies making vaccines for tropical diseases. "We could make a "killing" in all the countries predicted to get hotter,"... so that when World War Three breaks out over lack of resources, we'll have more people to kill.
Sorry about the sarcasm, but the irony of all this doesn't escape my notice.