April 1982 RAIN Page 15 but you can figure it out yourself using the information given and common sense. The whole point is to save money and resources. Recognizing the conservatism of builders—"20 years is not a long time lag between the proving out of an innovation and its widespread acceptance by home builders"—Cook compiled the Handbook as a tool to help rapidly spread the use of innovations that significantly reduce both initial and life cycle costs of housing. He believes that "proper use of the Handbook can result in cutting building costs per square foot approximately in half in a given locality." More Housing Innovations Briefs will be published over the next five years. Annual subscriptions for Innovations Briefs (12 per year) and the quarterly Housing Innovation News are $20 (same address as above). —Tanya Kucak HEALTH "Infant Mortality and the Health of Societies", by Kathleen Newland, Worldwatch Paper #47, December 1981, $2.00, from: Worldwatch Institute 1776 Massachusetts Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Infant mortality, the rate at which infants die before reaching their first birthday, is usually attributed to the effects of poverty. It is quite surprising then, to learn of poor countries with low mortality rates, and relatively rich ones with high rates. Newland, senior researcher at Worldwatch Institute, suggests that infant mortality rates are more an indication of how well a society is meeting the needs of its people than the national wealth. An infant mortality rate illuminates what a Gross National Product (GNP) obscures—distribution of resources. Introducing a bit of history and some statistics as a backdrop to her analysis, Newland notes that most countries have seen infant mortality rates drop over the past two decades. The exceptions to this rule are Sri Lanka, Brazil, the Soviet Union . . . and the United States! These increases have not been the result of natural disasters or war, but of economic and social stresses—ones we can expect to increase in light of recent U.S. budget cuts. Washington, D.C., whose per capita income figures obscure the existence of large number of poor people, experienced a shocking 10% increase in infant mortalities in a one year period, 1979-1980. High death rates among both developed and developing nations should be an alarm to policy-makers that something has run amuck. The lack of high quality and preventative health care is but one factor in infant deaths. Other factors which Newland touches upon exist in the social environment (poor access to education for women); the physical environment (sanitation, toxic pollutants, alcoholism); and the economic environment (high teenage pregnancy rates, malnutrition). While medical intervention has its place in reducing infant morality, Newland emphasizes preventative measures as a more cost- effective and socially responsive strategy. Her suggestions include: restructuring government priorities in public spending, improving the status of women in society, increasing health education, and a more equitable distribution of food. While Newland's recommendations seem a bit optimistic under the Reagan administration, they accurately target actual needs for change. —Laura Stuchinsky The Great Health Robbery; Baby Milk and Medicines in Yemen, by Dianna Melrose, 1981, 50 pp., $3.00 from: Third World Publications 252 Stathford Road Birmingham, Great Britain Bll IRD Where Newland's report treats infant mortality in its entirety, Melrose's The Great Health Robbery focuses specifically on one country: Yemen. Directed primarily toward a British audience, the book describes factors within Yemen, and between Yemen and Britain that have created obstacles to health in Yemen. Examples of societal constraints include: poor sanitation, religious fatalism that arrests people's ability to take control of their lives, the low status of women which affects education and nutrition levels, inadequate health care (one dentist for every half million people) and an economy that has changed from subsistence agriculture to a heavy reliance on imported foods. Evidence of external forces can be found in the promotion and proliferation of imported drugs (some banned from their producing country), baby formula, and cigarettes. All of these factors have contributed to high infant mortality and an average life expectancy of 39 years. A brief chapter on the problems of artificial baby milk and western drugs demonstrates how when "medicines" are sold like any other commodity, people's real needs take second place. Numerous examples are given, not the least of which is the use of advertisements designed (as in the U.S.) to boost sales by preying on peoples fears. This is coupled with inadequate provision of information ; directions are often written in English, rather than Arabic, and couched in medical jargon. On a more hopeful note, Melrose describes an Oxfam funded project run by the British Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR) that is trying to address some of the health problems in Yemen by teaching preventative medicine to village midwives and medicine-men. The project, she admits, has its shortcomings. As foreigners, CIIR personnel are unable to address the root economic and social issues of ill- health, but they are providing other Yemeni communities with constructive models for change. The Great Health Robber concludes with a challenge to the reader to act, to recognize that local efforts can help those far away. A useful reminder when hopelessness seems to prevail. —Laura Stuchinsky The CancerJournals, by Audre Lourde, 1980, 77 pp., $4.00, from: Spinsters Ink RDl Argyle, NY 12809 Health Assurance: A Handbook and Evaluation Checklistfor Women’s Health Services in Student Health Centers, by Jeaime Cemazanu, 1981,38 pp., $2.63 postpaid from: OSPIRG P.O. Box 751 Portland State University Portland, OR 97207 A New View ofa Woman’s Body, by Federation of Feminist Women's Health Centers, 1981,174 pp., $8.95, from: Simon and Schuster 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 These three books give women valuable information, in three very different formats, to help us reclaim control of our bodies. Audre Lorde, a black lesbian feminist poet, gives a detailed account of her experience with breast cancer in The Cancer Journals. She speaks to the fears women have about cancer, and how the Cancer Industry perpetuates the silences between women. She discusses how women are made to see having a mastectomy as a cosmetic problem instead of as a life-threatening situation caused by a society which has little regard for the environment or women. Her book ends with an expose of the American Cancer Society, and the invitation to all women to arm ourselves with information to fight the silencing we have experienced. Jeanne Cernazanu, a woman's health advocate, gives a valuable tool for the acquisition of quality health care in her handbook and checklist. Although this book was written primarily for college students, it is complete and readable, which makes it useful in any medical setting. The book has two sections. The first section contains checklists to help women evaluate the care they receive. The second section has concise descriptions of the common gynecological examination, common vaginal conditions, venereal diseases, birth control methods and DES/the morning-after pill. Cernazanu's respectful and empowering presentation of information serves as an example for women's health cont. on next page
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