Anja Rubik by Mario Testino for Towel Series

Top model Anja Rubik, who joined the Forbes list of the world’s highest paid models is a late bloomer as #60 in Mario Testino’s ongoing towel series. It’s not for fear of taking her clothes off. Rubik is a defender of tasteful nudity, exposing the female body in her 25 Magazine and saying in a recent interview for The Edit:

“I’m not saying in a spread -eagle position, but if someone feels very comfortable with their body, why not show it in a beautiful way? I think a woman’s body is beautiful, so why is a topless image so terrible?”

Meryl Streep 1979 and Now

This image is a huge hit on my Facebook page. Actress Meryl Streep models the same dress at age 64 that she wore in 1979, about 36 years ago. Indeed, she was a beauty then and now.

Pope Francis Invites Breastfeeding at Vatican

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has no policy on breast-feeding, but encourages the practice. Most churches and religious institutions offer nursing mothers a private place to breastfeed. While no one wants to criticize openly, large numbers of parishioners are uncomfortable with a woman nursing discretely during the service. Better that she should miss the liturgy than taking one of the most natural, fundamental actions on earth — that of feeding her child.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization and American Academy of Pediatrics implore new mothers to exclusively breastfeed their babies for a minimum of six months for reduced rates of leukemia and obesity in children, coupled with lower risks of ovarian cancer and diabetes in mothers, writes the Wall Street Journal.

Only 16.4% of American mothers exclusively breastfeed babies as advised by these health organizations. WSJ cites five key reasons:

1. 100 years of synthetic formula is better marketing

2. Mothers are working. Because the US is alone among developed countries in not having guaranteed paid maternity leave, many mothers must return to work at once. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the workforce participation rate for mothers with infants is 57%, up from 53% in 2004.

3. Higher-income, white women are the most likely to breastfeed, as this graph show. Low-income women are more likely to have no maternity leave and therefore return to work immediately. They are also more likely not to have the flexibility of using a breast pump as needed.

4. After giving birth, new mothers receive formulas in gift bags in the hospital. Coming under the auspices of the medical facility turns into a recommendation in the minds of most new mothers.

5. Formula is heavily advertised to new moms.

Pope Francis Offers Papal Blessing

Pope Francis first expressed his support of breastfeeding in December 2013 in an interview with ‘La Stampa’. The world is beginning to understand that the pontiff doesn’t mince words and has an aversion to protocol.

Yet, jaws dropped around the world when the beloved pontiff stood beneath ‘The Last Judgment’ in the Sistine Chapel prepared to baptise 33 infants in early January 2015.

“You mothers give your children milk and even now, if they cry because they are hungry, breastfeed them, don’t worry,” Francis said.

‘The Last Judgment’ by Michelangelo