# Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015 > [!cite] > Papastavrou, M., S. M. Genitsaridi, E. Komodiki, S. Paliatsou, A. Kontogeorgou, and N. Iacovidou. ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’. *Journal of Pediatrics & Neonatal Care*, vol. 2, no. 6 (2015), pp. 11–12. https://doi.org/10.15406/jpnc.2015.02.00096. > [!abstract] > Nurturing babies is an issue inextricably bound to all species in nature. In prehistoric times, breastfeeding was the first priority of mothers until later in infancy. In ancient times breastfeeding continued to be of crucial importance, and goddesses of motherhood are presented with naked breasts. Concurrently, for the first time in history, wet nurses appeared in societies as a legal profession to replace mothers when they were unable to feed their children; special utensils for artificial feeding appeared as well. In Ancient Egypt breastfeeding was first priority of mothers until infants reached six months of age and then, cow’s milk was given to children. In Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Greece, breastfeeding was of high value and one can find numerous references in mythology. Wet nursing was also widespread in these societies. Nevertheless, great historians and philosophers, such as Aristotle and Plutarch opposed to employing wet nurses, as they strongly believed that breastfeeding was a duty of the mother. In Roman times, wet nursing began to be a choice of the majority of wealthy families. In Israel and China, breastfeeding continued until the age of two years, while in Indies, it stopped at six months, when teething starts. In Islam, breastfeeding had a religious basis and usually lasted for two years and wet nurses were selected by parents with great thoughtfulness. In Byzantine times, the duration of breastfeeding was set at around twenty months. Colostrum was considered unsuitable and for the first days of life honey was given to newborns instead. In middle Ages, objections against wet nursing reappeared as it was considered that breast milk could transmit physical and psychological characteristics of the woman and that breastfeeding was a maternal duty. In Renaissance, writings on pediatrics strongly argued mother’s breastfeeding. At the end of eighteenth century, new substitutes of feeding infants appeared such as animal milk, pap and panada. In the ensuing years (19th century) mothers had to work in order to contribute to family income, and for the first time artificial feeding became the first choice. At the outset of this century, the first chemical analysis gave a vast advantage over human milk. Notwithstanding, in the twentieth century, formulas continued to be the first choice as advertising exerted its influence on public opinion. Especially in developed countries, there was a dramatic increase in the use of formulas, as it was considered to be the best nutrition for the infants. As a result, an outbreak of necrotizing enterocolitis occurred with increase in infant mortality. Mothers avoided breastfeeding as they often felt ashamed, as breast is an element of woman’s sexuality. Lately, a strong movement is noticed worldwide attempting to convince societies and healthcare professionals on the innumerable advantages of breastfeeding for the mother, the infants and in the long-term for the health systems. --- ‘The first humanoids, the Neanderthals, the hunter-gatherers and the farming Stone Age people are believed to had raised their children, the way other higher primates did, i.e. by breastfeeding them on demand for several years. The fossils records provide little indication of weaning times, so the best evidence we have comes from our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.’ [[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|(Papastavrou et al. 2015, 1)]] ^95bcae ‘Chimpanzees and bonobos wean their Youngs at the age of 4 or 5 years, while gorillas do so about a year earlier. The emergence of adult teeth and the growth of the offspring to about four times its original birth weight are considered to be the milestones coinciding with the cessation of nursing in the great apes. However, it is tricky to translate all these in human years, as humans are unique among the primates with several particularities.’ [[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|(Papastavrou et al. 2015, 1–2)]] ^8345ec ‘In ancient Mesopotamia, people glorified breast milk through their myths. The Babylonian goddess Astarte is considered as the Mother of fertile breast, the Queen of Heaven, the Creator of human beings and the Mother of the Gods.’ [[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|(Papastavrou et al. 2015, 2)]] ^6669d1 ‘Law regulated this profession and contracts used to consolidate this association, and there are reports on the issue as early as 2,000BC.’ [[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|(Papastavrou et al. 2015, 2)]] ^5287c2 ‘Children who were breastfed by the same woman were considered siblings and therefore were prohibited to marry each other.’ [[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|(Papastavrou et al. 2015, 4)]] ^b4759f ‘Arota and co-workers analyzed prehistoric tooth and attempted to accurately detect when babies were weaned. They hypothesized that it might be possible to detect the weaning time from the amount of barium in the growing teeth. Molars of a 100.000 year old Neanderthal child found at Scladina Cave in Belgium were scanned by laser and revealed that the barium levels increased immediately after birth, due to exclusive breastfeeding, then they decreased to intermediate levels for another 7 months, indicating that maternal milk was supplemented by other food, and finally they fell to very low levels after 1,2 years of life, pin-pointing the time of weaning. However, it is not possible to draw firm conclusions about Neanderthal breastfeeding habits from this data. The Scladina Cave child died quite young, at about 8 years of age, which might also present a bias in the interpretations. Moreover, there are still questions if Neanderthal children grew up faster, as some earlier studies had suggested so.’ [[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|(Papastavrou et al. 2015, 2)]] ^0d63c0 ‘The Venus of Willendorf, a high statuette of a female figure, was excavated in 1908 from a Paleolithic site near Willendorf village in Austria. It is estimated that it was carved around 28.000 and 25.000 BC. Several similar statuettes were discovered, and are collectively referred to as Venus figurines, such as the Venus of Laussel (23.000-20.000 BC). These figures are not considered to be realistic portraits, but rather an idealization of the female figure, emphasizing the significance of fertility and childbearing.’ [[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|(Papastavrou et al. 2015, 2)]] ^19c9d2 ‘Children who were breastfed by the same woman were considered siblings and therefore were prohibited to marry each other.’ [[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|(Papastavrou et al. 2015, 2)]] ^be19d5 ‘Ancient scriptures refer to the importance of breastfeeding.’ [[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|(Papastavrou et al. 2015, 1)]] ^7ccbe5 ’A mother should nurse her child, but if maternal milk was not available for whatever reason or it was of insufficient volume for the baby’s requirements, the Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans used to employ wet nurses in order to take over.’ [[Papastavrou et al., ‘Breastfeeding in the Course of History’, 2015|(Papastavrou et al. 2015, 2)]] ^4dc572