\[ **BT: [[human beings#nutrition of infants]] | [[mammals#lactation]]** ] --- # breast/chestfeeding [[In modern non-industrial societies, babies are typically breastfed for almost thirty months.]][^1] --- ## physiology [[Suckling induces oxytocin production in all mammals.]][^2] ### complications/disorders - see: [[dysphoric milk ejection reflex]] ### mammary pheromones [[There might be a 'human mammary pheromone, suggested by the response of human babies to secretions from any lactating mother, not just their own. Babies suck in response to secretions from the areola gland around the nipple.']][^3] - see: [[pheromones]] --- ## history [[Ancient (and not-so-ancient) Western medical advice about breastfeeding often implies the inadequacy of the mother to breastfeed her own infant, especially in the early weeks of life.]][^4] ### archaeological evidence [[Measuring barium levels in teeth can show archaeologists the transition from breastfeeding to weaning.]][^5] ### ancient history [[Ancient scriptures mention the importance of breastfeeding.]][^6] [[The Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all used wet-nurses as needed.]][^7] [[Mesopotamian belief systems glorified breast milk through Astarte, Queen of Heaven and Mother of the fertile breast.]][^8] #### ancient law and legislation ##### wet-nursing ###### Code of Hammurabi [[Laws regulating wet nurses have been present throughout history; they were first recorded as early as 2000 BCE.]][^9] [[The Code of Hammurabi codified laws about wet nurses.]][^10] ###### Islamic law [[Per Islamic regulations (Quran 4.23), children breastfed by the same woman are prohibited to marry.]][^11] - see: [[society#laws and customs re. milk kinship]] ### ancient China [[Ancient Chinese writings seem to closer in orientation to modern worldwide medical advice; they approach breastfeeding from a more natural and supportive perspective.]][^12] #### middle imperial China [[Although paediatrics was not yet a specialisation, medical texts in the Tang dynasty discussed the proper nutrition of infants.]][^13] [[The anonymous text 'A Thorough Discussion of the Hygiene of Small Children' dates from the Song dynasty; it provides invaluable insight re. breastfeeding norms and expectations of the era.]][^14] [[Sun Simiao, of the Tang dynasty, described breastmilk as the product of ‘vital energies’.]][^15] - see also: - [[history--China#Tang dynasty (618–690 CE; 705–907 CE)]] - [[history--China#Song dynasty (960–1279)]] [^1]: Michael Balter, ‘[[Balter, ‘How Long Did Neanderthals Nurse’, 2013|Neanderthal Breastfeeding Habits Revealed By Analysis Of Prehistoric Tooth]]’, Science NOW, *HuffPost*, 23 May 2013, Online Edition, [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/neanderthal-breastfeeding-prehistoric-tooth_n_3321809](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/neanderthal-breastfeeding-prehistoric-tooth_n_3321809). [^2]: Mario Caba et al., ‘[[Caba et al., ‘Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Reproduction’, 2018|Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Reproduction: Insights from Behavior and the Female Rabbit’s Brain]]’, *Frontiers in Endocrinology*, vol. 9, 106 (March 2018), p. 4, [https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2018.00106](https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2018.00106); Jennifer Denver, *[[Denver, Female Biology, 2024|Female Biology]]*, 2nd edition, All USF Faculty Authored Books 108 (2024), p. 354. USF Scholarship Repository, [https://repository.usfca.edu/faculty_books_all/108](https://repository.usfca.edu/faculty_books_all/108); Cat Bohannon, *[[Bohannon, Eve, 2023|Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution]]* (Hutchinson Heinemann, 2023), p. 43. [^3]: Tristram D. Wyatt, ‘[[Wyatt, ‘Pheromones’, 2017|Pheromones]]’, *Current Biology*, vol. 27, no. 15 (2017), R743, [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.039](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.039). [^4]: L. M. Gartner and C. Stone, ‘[[Gartner and Stone, ‘Two Thousand Years of Medical Advice on Breastfeeding’, 1994|Two Thousand Years of Medical Advice on Breastfeeding: Comparison of Chinese and Western Texts]]’, *Seminars in Perinatology*, vol. 18, no. 6 (1994), abstract, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7701356/. [^5]: Michael Balter, ‘[[Balter, ‘How Long Did Neanderthals Nurse’, 2013|Neanderthal Breastfeeding Habits Revealed By Analysis Of Prehistoric Tooth]]’, Science NOW, *HuffPost*, 23 May 2013, Online Edition, [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/neanderthal-breastfeeding-prehistoric-tooth_n_3321809](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/neanderthal-breastfeeding-prehistoric-tooth_n_3321809). [^6]: M. Papastavrou et al. ‘[[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|Breastfeeding in the Course of History]]’, *Journal of Pediatrics & Neonatal Care*, vol. 2, no. 6 (2015), p. 1, https://doi.org/10.15406/jpnc.2015.02.00096. [^7]: M. Papastavrou et al. ‘[[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|Breastfeeding in the Course of History]]’, *Journal of Pediatrics & Neonatal Care*, vol. 2, no. 6 (2015), p. 2, https://doi.org/10.15406/jpnc.2015.02.00096. [^8]: M. Papastavrou et al., ‘[[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|Breastfeeding in the Course of History]]’, *Journal of Pediatrics & Neonatal Care*, vol. 2, issue 6 (2015), p. 2, https://doi.org/10.15406/jpnc.2015.02.00096. [^9]: M. Papastavrou, ‘[[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|Breastfeeding in the Course of History]]’, *Journal of Pediatrics & Neonatal Care*, vol. 2, no. 6 (2015), p. 2, https://doi.org/10.15406/jpnc.2015.02.00096. [^10]: Robert Francis Harper, ed., *[[Hammurabi, Code of Hammurabi King of Babylon about 2250 B.C., trans. Harper 1904|The Code of Hammurabi King of Babylon about 2250 B.C.]]* (University of Chicago Press, 1904), n.p., https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/hammurabi-the-code-of-hammurabi. [^11]: M. Papasavrou et al., ‘[[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|Breastfeeding in the Course of History]]’, *Journal of Pediatrics & Neonatal Care*, vol. 2, no. 6 (2015), p. 4. https://doi.org/10.15406/jpnc.2015.02.00096. [^12]: L. M. Gartner and C. Stone, ‘[[Gartner and Stone, ‘Two Thousand Years of Medical Advice on Breastfeeding’, 1994|Two Thousand Years of Medical Advice on Breastfeeding: Comparison of Chinese and Western Texts]]’, *Seminars in Perinatology*, vol. 18, no. 6 (1994), abstract, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7701356/. [^13]: Ping-Chen Hsiung, ‘[[Hsiung, ‘To Nurse the Young’, 1995|To Nurse the Young: Breastfeeding and Infant Feeding in Late Imperial China]]’, *Journal of Family History*, vol. 20, no. 3 (1995), p. 218, https://doi.org/10.1177/036319909502000301. [^14]: Ping-Chen Hsiung, ‘[[Hsiung, ‘To Nurse the Young’, 1995|To Nurse the Young: Breastfeeding and Infant Feeding in Late Imperial China]]’, *Journal of Family History*, vol. 20, no. 3 (1995), p. 218, https://doi.org/10.1177/036319909502000301. [^15]: L. M. Gartner and C. Stone, ‘[[Gartner and Stone, ‘Two Thousand Years of Medical Advice on Breastfeeding’, 1994|Two Thousand Years of Medical Advice on Breastfeeding: Comparison of Chinese and Western Texts]]’, *Seminars in Perinatology*, vol. 18, no. 6 (1994), PIP, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7701356/.