“How Independent Are Vaccine Supporters?”

Excerpt:
They’re some of the most trusted voices in the defense of vaccine safety: the American Academy of Pediatrics, Every Child By Two, and pediatrician Dr. Paul Offit.

But CBS News has found these three have something more in common - strong financial ties to the industry whose products they promote and defend. There’s nothing illegal about the financial relationships, but to critics, they pose a serious risk for conflicts of interest. As one member of Congress put it, money from the pharmaceutical industry can shape the practices of those who hold themselves out to be “independent.”

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Bellies and Babies (how much do I adore thee?) also wrote one of the most incredible blog posts I’ve read on the politic end of birth titled How Do Expect to Make Mothers out of Women When we Treat Them Like Children.  I usually end up saying to myself “blah blah blah” if a blog post gets too long, but this one was an exception.  Check it out - trust me, it’s a good one.

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The hullabaloo about the Swiss chef incorporating human breast milk into his cooking has everyone astir and it cracks me up.  It interests me that my own reaction is “ummm, no thank you” when I KNOW how ludicrous it is that we will drink the milk/eat the cheese from the milk that came out of a cow/goat/sheeps breast without any “ugh-factor”.  Even more entertaining is PETA’s request of Ben & Jerry’s (in light of the Swiss chef I do believe) to begin to use human breastmilk in their ice cream.  Wonder if B&J will put out a formal answer?

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I’ve been back to gaze at this beautiful birth quilt more than once, and I have to share:
http://littlelumpkin.blogspot.com/2008/06/birthing-quilt.html

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For those birth professionals who read this blog, this blog post on using the term “yoni” in professional circles had me cracking up -
http://navelgazingmidwife.squarespace.com/navelgazing-midwife-blog/2008/9/27/whats-in-a-yoni.html

Oh hey - I just realized that the awesome quote I posted just a few blog posts ago is written by the same woman who the blog above references.  Small world, this birthing world.

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Oh, for those birth junkies out there, I found the best YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/futuremidwife.  She’s essentially collected some of the best YouTube birth videos out there.  If you are a fellow birth junkie, you might want to wait til you have some time! 

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Alright, enough thievery!

Thanks to one of my new fav blogs - Bellies and Babies - for bringing that quote to my attention.