Kirjahaku

Born on the wrong side of the sheets in the dead of a bitter Scottish night, a tiny baby girl is born and later abandoned on a cold doorstep. Who is she? Why was she abandoned, and what would her destiny be?Sheila has huge odds against her from the beginning. A childhood blighted by sadistic beatings at the hand of her own father. She lives in daily dread of his violence and relies on her half siblings for care and affection. In her early teens, her father's abuse becomes sexual.At the close of World War II, Sheila is raped by a man she liked and trusted and gives birth to a son. Would cruel act finally destroy her?A wasted life 'crying over spilt milk', is not for Sheila; she refuses to remain a victim. She determines to use all her courage, tenacity and strength to live an inspiring life. Her uplifting story brings hope and encouragement to those going through adversity. Told with unflinching honesty by her daughter, Pamela, 'Sheila's story reveals the strength of character her mother possessed; the spark of hope within that refused to die. "Sheila' is wonderfully hopeful and uplifting, you will laugh and you will cry, but you will never forget Sheila's story.

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.

Recent research has shown that breastfeeding poses a much lower risk of HIV transmission than previously thought, and in 2009 global guidance that promoted formula to avoid HIV transmission was reversed. Mothers living with HIV can now choose to breastfeed if they wish – but in Western societies with low rates of breastfeeding among all mothers, informed and skilled support can be hard to find. Pamela Morrison, retired IBCLC and author of HIV and Breastfeeding, the definitive work on the subject, has written this short book specifically for HIV-positive mothers, and the health professionals they work with, to offer clear, evidence-based information about breastfeeding in the context of HIV. The book explains: background information about the normal course of lactationhow to initiate and maintain breastfeedinghow to prevent and work through or around difficulties that may arisehow to maintain breastmilk production or breastmilk-feeding if supplements are recommended. The aim is to support mothers living with HIV to reach their goals to breastfeed, and then to stop breastfeeding easily and safely whenever they and their babies are ready.