Our Babies, Ourselves

This should be mandatory reading for anyone who is about to become a parent and is still caught up in the "mainstream" perceptions of parenting infants. It talks about various ways children are dealt with in various culture, from primitive to modern. It also talks a great deal about how biology factors into it all. It has several light bulb moment ideas from breastfeeding to where the baby sleeps. It doesn't mention elimination communication vs. diapering but perhaps that would alienate people who are already on the fence. However, at times the text can be a tad bit dry for the average reader, and I'm not sure whether the material was really repetitive or whether I just knew it all going in. (OK, that sounds conceited.)

I did get quite a few interesting facts out of it though, both historical and anthropological. Like how at one point of American history, the guy who invented the incubator, I think his name was Cooney, actually made a museum of (living) premature babies in incubators. And their mothers weren't allowed to touch them or go near them, but they were given free admission to the show. Wowsa.