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Baby talk
IN BRITAIN, for a long time, she was known as "the woman who made Margaret Thatcher cry." However, Dr. Miriam Stoppard is more famous today as the "woman who gives tips on how to stop babies from crying!"
Author of more than 45 books on conception, pregnancy and childcare and parental guidance, Stoppard, (she looks a lot like Liz Taylor) wears her success lightly. On a brief visit to Chennai to attend a typical five-day Indian wedding of a friend, the writer spent some time at the Landmark store, talking to Chennai's own pregnancy expert, Dr. Gita Arjun, about her life, work and books, including Conception, Pregnancy and Birth, Teach Your Child And First Time Parents. Complete Baby and Childcare and Questions Children Ask.
"My son sucks his thumb a lot. How do I stop it?", My 11-year old child still wets his bed. What do I do?", "My child does not burp after a feed. Is it unhealthy?", "My kid is very thin. How to make him eat?"... the questions from anxious parents, who had gathered in large numbers, were many. Stoppard answered each query with sympathy, understanding and utmost patience.
A practising physician for eight years, Stoppard gave it all up one day to do research in a pharmaceutical company. But why? "On an impulse," she replies.
And how did her romance with writing begin? "At the dinner table. One of my friends asked me if I could write a book on baby care. I replied in the affirmative as I felt that if men could do so, then women most definitely could! Imagine my surprise when I realised that one of the men seated at the table was a well-known publisher!" The rest, as the cliché goes, is history.
Stoppard, who writes because "people need it and that's the only skill I have," is a strong advocate of a practical and sympathetic approach to parenting. "One of my main aims is to give information in a readily accessible form... an anxious parent, faced with a sick child in the middle of the night, needs straight, uncomplicated information and advice... "
Stoppard has tackled diverse issues related to child birth and baby care in her books. On the issue of working women carrying "the burden of guilt", she believes "a good parent need not necessarily spend all her time with the children". A mother and a grandmother herself, Stoppard says she has done "quite well with my kids."
As Gita Arjun rightly pointed, finally bringing up children depends a lot of the parents' instincts. And more often than not, instincts never go wrong.
Besides writing books, Miriam Stoppard is also a popular medical writer, broadcaster and advice columnist to The Mirror. But what she loves doing most is spending time with her businessman husband, going to the theatre and watching films ("I watched "Monsoon Wedding" three times. I think it's a great movie," she gushes). She is currently working on a book that deals with health guidance for the complete family.
But one is curious to find out what that question was which made Margaret Thatcher cry. "While interviewing her, I asked her about her father's influence on her. As she spoke of her father, Mrs. Thatcher became emotional and tears rolled down her cheeks. I remember there was absolute silence after that in the studio," recalls Stoppard, her smile reaching her eyes.
Some interesting baby facts
*Plump babies are not necessarily healthy babies.
*Exercising during pregnancy does do a world of good for expectant mothers.
*According to research findings, if fathers hold their new born within half an hour of birth, the bonding between father and child is as strong as it is with the mother.
*Babies love feeding themselves. Just allow them to do so. It works wonders.
*Post-natal depression normally lasts only a couple of weeks after birth and not all women experience that state.
SAVITHA GAUTAM
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