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by Pamela Morrison (Author)
In the early 1980s it was discovered that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, could be passed through a mother's milk to her baby. Almost overnight in the industrialised countries, and later in the African countries most ravaged by HIV, breastfeeding became an endangered practice. But in the rush to reduce transmission of HIV, everything we already knew about breastfeeding's life-saving effects was overlooked, with devastating consequences for mothers and babies.
In HIV and Breastfeeding - the untold story, former IBCLC Pamela Morrison, an acknowledged authority on HIV and breastfeeding, reveals how women in the world's most poverty-stricken areas were persuaded to abandon breastfeeding as part of a short-sighted and deadly policy that led to an humanitarian disaster. The dilemma that breastfeeding, an act of nurturing which confers food, comfort and love, could be at once life-saving yet lethal, has been called 'the ultimate paradox'. This critical account reveals how vital breastfeeding is, even in the most difficult of circumstances, and examines the lessons that can be learned from the mistakes of the past - which is particularly relevant as we deal with the consequences for mothers and babies of another global pandemic, Covid-19. With detailed information for HIV-positive mothers and their caregivers, and success stories from mothers themselves, this book is essential reading for anyone involved in protecting and supporting breastfeeding, or with a need for evidence-based information about breastfeeding and HIV.Author Biography
Pamela Morrison has been speaking and writing about breastfeeding and HIV since 1995. A former La Leche League Leader, in 1990 she became the first IBCLC in Zimbabwe, where she worked in private practice and served as a member of the Zimbabwe National Multi-sectoral Breastfeeding Committee, as a BFHI trainer and assessor, and assisted with development of national WHO Code legislation and HIV and breastfeeding policy. She was a consultant to the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, authoring the WABA publication, International Policy on HIV and Breastfeeding: a Comprehensive Resource. Since 2005 she has lived and worked in the UK and until her recent retirement continued to contribute to breastfeeding policy and work in private practice to support mothers and babies.
