One day of google reader

I subscribe to lots of blogs. Too many. I also have Google Alerts set for various search terms. On the days I don't blog, it's usually not for lack of something to write about. It's the other way around, actually--blogging paralysis caused by information overload.

Here's a sampling of things that caught my attention today, ones that I bookmarked for later posting/viewing/reading/commenting.

Jenne at Descent into Motherhood discussed what birth trauma looks like (and what it does not look like), using pictures from her own two births as examples. I love looking at contrasting pictures of births, such as this woman who had two cesareans and finally, in her words, a "victorious birth after multiple cesareans." Or this link I followed from Jenne's blog to Comparison at Aimeeland. Any other photo/video comparisons you'd like to share?

Women in Charge, a home birth midwife's blog, shared two birth stories in one. The mom's first baby was born at home, then her twins were born in a hospital. Nice to read such a great story, but it's one of those lucky stories that many mothers of multiples don't ever get a chance to experience. 

Molly at First The Egg (formerly Feminist Childbirth Studies) finally unmasked herself. She shared her frustrations with the subtle discrimination towards mothers in academia, something I totally can relate to:

I work in an extraordinarily competitive field in which no one’s really supposed to have interests outside scholarship and teaching (in that order, preferably). There is a reason that it’s illegal for hiring committees to ask whether a candidate is married, has kids, is planning a family, etc. Much the same reason that women in my profession try really, really hard not to be pregnant on the job market (it’s much harder to hide your parenthood when you have a huge belly rather than a child who can be left at the hotel with another caregiver!). People really do discriminate–largely unconsciously, I’d bet–against women with small children....

The subtle and not-so-subtle codes that say it’s okay–admirable, even–to be and talk about being an involved father, but a sign of poor work ethic or inadequate professional commitment to be and talk about being an involved mother. The coding of childbirth and parenting as ‘women’s work’ and as special interests rather than as fundamental elements of human experience and cultural systems.

And lots of stuff about breastfeeding--in particular, the recent study in Pediatrics that concluded: " if 80 to 90 percent of women exclusively breastfed for as little as four months and if 90 percent of women would breastfeed some times until six months," the US would save $13 billion in excess costs annually and avert 911 preventable deaths per year.

Responses to this article--and there are tons out there, so please share your favorites--include:

• Jenne at Descent Into Motherhood: Vitriol over breastfeeding research. I love the comment that "Ideals are stars to be guided by not sticks to beat ourselves with."
• The Feminist Breeder: When it comes to breastfeeding, we can't handle the truth

Dou-la-la alerted me to a new film, Latching On, and gave some commentary. Bellies and Babies also mentioned that documentary, as well as another one titled My Toxic Baby.

Every day is like this...so many interesting things to read share and never enough time to get to all of them!