When was breast feeding discovered

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Related Stories. America Needs to Get Back to Facts. Already a print subscriber? Go here to link your subscription. Need help? Visit our Help Center. These children were hand-fed using unsanitary pap boats or hard-to-clean bottles, and often being fed cows' milk gone bad. Paediatricians, an emerging class of doctors looking to make their mark, pushed for a medically sound method to feed these children.

Formula was manufactured as a result. Formula was a godsend," says Barston. In the beginning half of the 20th Century, condensed milk was also a popular choice for western women who did not breastfeed. The advent of sterile bottles in the s, combined with a cultural preference for the new and scientific, led to an increase in formula use.

That produced a major sea change in the health of non-breastfed babies. Now nobody's getting ill. That's a change that would have been welcomed by women in the 18th and 19th Centuries, says Dr Lee. They expect and want to breastfeed, but they are very upfront about when it hurts, when it goes wrong, and when they need to give up and find a wet nurse," she says.

The debate over formula use still simmers despite the calls for peace from people like Swinson. But it's clear that for everything that formula may not be - best for babies, nutritionally equal to breast milk, inexpensive - it is, above all, a safe way to feed growing infants.

Image source, Library of Congress. In ancient Palestine, since 2. Breastfeeding used to last long enough, almost up to two to three years and provided the infant with protection from various diseases, and above all from dysentery which was common and often fatal.

The moment of weaning was celebrated with a joyous meal originating from as a crifice; all that ritual was in commemoration of the great banquet that was given the day that Isaac, Abraham's son, had ceased to nurse Sarah.

In BC Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism, recommended newborns to be placed immediately on the mother's breast and breastfeed for about two years [9]. The first Indian scriptures, the Vedas, represent the primary sacred texts BC , and stated that the milk and the breast are symbols of long evity and have the sweetness of nectarines. The chest is designed as a pitcher full of nectar Atharva Veda. The ancient Ayurveda texts like CharakSamhita BC , the SushrutaSamhita BC , and KashyapSamhita, illustrated the importance of breastfeeding, and described the value of breast milk, considered to have vivifying power.

As to the duration of breastfeeding it is reported in these medical texts that it should last until the eruption of teeth, for at least six months. The SushrutaSamhita clearly indicated the introduction of solid foods at the age of six months, when teething starts.

Early weaning may result in swollen belly [31]. The SushrutaSamhita also recommended that breastfeeding continued until the mother became pregnant again [32]. Beliefs about the colostrum varied. Many mothers discarded colostrum, as they considered it to be harmful to the child and they gave babies cow's milk, water and honey during this initial and very important period for the establishment of lactation [33].

Chinese scriptures seemed to be closer to contemporary medical advice, approaching breastfeeding from a more natural and supportive perspective. Instructions for breastfeeding in Chinese medical texts dated from the 10 th century AD. Emphasis was put on the correct procedures and on the quality, temperature and freshness of the milk. The restrictions placed on nursing mothers in nutrition, emotion, temperature and health were often repeated, and warnings against breast feeding immediately after sexual intercourse or while the mother was intoxicated were wide spread.

Breastfeeding in China usually lasted at least two years [34]. Breastfeeding had a religious basis in Islam. The Holy Qur'an recommended, that if possible, the mother should breastfeed her offspring for two years, and declared that every new born infant had the right to breastfeed. It described the need for continuity between intrauterine environment, in which food was transferred from the mother's blood through the placenta, and extra-uterine environment, in which the infantisfed with breast milk.

So after birth the infant remained attached and dependent on its mother for food for 24months. If the mother was unable to breastfeed, she and the father could mutually agree to employ a wet nurse. That demonstrated the preference of Islam in infant feeding with human milk instead of animal milk. The choice of wet nurse was considered to be the key to the health of babies that could not be fed by their biological mother.

Children who were breastfed by the same woman were considered siblings and therefore were prohibited to marry each other [6]. The Hadith stated that the mother received a reward for every drop of breast milk given to her child. An important aspect of breastfeeding in Muslim culture is the emphasis on the mother's privacy when breastfeeding and this comes from the Islamic faith that there are body parts of men and women which should be covered at all times in front of those who are not close relatives [6,37].

In Byzantine times physicians described the art of breastfeeding an deemphasized its advantages, especially for low body weight newborns. Aetius 2nd century BC and Oribasius — BC , considered colostrum to be unsuitable for newborns, therefore, Byzantines fed newborns with honey during the first days of life. They believed that breastfeeding should ideally start between the 3rd and 5th day of life. In Byzantium breastfeeding was associated with the socioeconomic status of the mother. Women of the aristocracy recruited one or more wet nurses to breastfeed their children [39].

Physicians did not reject the employment of wet nurses, but defined rigorous rules about nursing and set strict selection criteria. Traditionally, they preferred healthy women from Thrace or Egypt, aged between years, and if possible with age matching that of the mother. Previous experience in parenting was essential. Their clothes should be clean, they should be calm and in happy mood and strict in morals [38].

This account could proceed straight to the Renaissance period, as there is no surviving work from the Middle Ages relevant to infant feeding; it is also unlikely that anything of importance was written. In Medieval West, women of the working class breastfed their children, as they could not afford to employ a wet nurse, but also because their domestic and agricultural work could be combined with breastfeeding.

At the same time, the first objections against the use of wet nurses arose. During the Middle Ages, society considered childhood as a special time of instability and vulnerability. Breast milk was believed to have magical properties, and it was thought that breast milk could transmit both physical and psychological characteristics of the woman. This belief led to objections against the use of nurses, and thus it was considered a holy duty of a mother to breastfeed her own child [8].

The year marks the beginning of the output of printed works on pediatrics; all the earlier ones where written in Latin, and nearly years were to pass before the first book in English on the subject appeared. Paul Bagellardu? Hiccup, diarrhea and vomiting were all attributed to over-feeding, while viscous milk gave rise to constipation, which was treated with a suppository made from powdered mouse excrement [40].

He also believed that the milk of a nurse conveys temperament and morals, in addition to diseases [9]. He was also the first to mention the possibility of the transmission of syphilis from the nurse to the infant. Ferrarius worried that babies would get" flavor of the nature of the person from which they fed" or in other words, would love the nurse, because they were nurtured by her, more than their mother.

In Europe of the 16 th th century, wet nursing was still the rule, mainly for wealthy families, which could employ more than one wet nurse. Mother was responsible for the selection of the wet nurse, who was under her strict surveillance [41].

Nevertheless, wet nurses enjoyed many privileges, like living under the same roof with the family for several years. That was a great benefit especially for poor women, who often had neglected, or even killed their own children.

Contrarily to wealthy families, poor mothers who could not breastfeed their children gave them to large groups of wet nurses. At the same period, a movement in favour of breastfeeding of infants from their natural mothers arose [42]. He also referred to four main objections against wet nursing. Nevertheless, if maternal milk was not available, the wet nurse was the next best option; she should be 20 - 30 years old, of good health and character and good mannered.

It is though worth mentioning that for periods of time when wet nurses did not live in the same house with the family, and therefore the infants lived with them in their place, infant mortality increased. This led governments to set strict legislation about wet nursing [42].

In the mid th century, Jacque Rousseau , also objected to wet nursing as the concurrent, growing popularity of maternal breast-feeding was associated with a significant decline of infant mortality [5]. During the French Revolution, it was emphasized once again the value of breast-feeding by the natural mother and the refusal of this was marked as an indication of aristocracy and decadence. At the end of the century, four methods of infant feeding were available, breast-feeding by the mother, by wet nurses, with animal milk, and with pap and panada.

Pap consisted of hot water and flour or bread soaked in water or milk and egg. Panada were cereals which were cooked in broth. Pap and panada were given as a supplement to infants fed by animal milk. During the Industrial Revolution the majority of people settled in urban areas, in order to find work. Mothers had to work outside from home, in order to supplement their family income. As the women were separated from their infants for several hours daily, breastfeeding was impossible and artificial nutrition became the first choice [45].

Indeed, in order to satisfy the demand in the changing societies, some centres set up breast milk banks where breast milk from several women was pooled and pasteurized before distribution. During this period, when artificial feeding became more or less the rule, one may evidence the evolution in the field of feeding bottles.

These had been used since the earliest historical times and many of them were discovered, in a variety of forms and shapes. The danger of using these vessels was associated with their unhygienic nature, with overfeeding and injudicious feeding. It was not until the 19 th century when glass bottles were first manufactured, and the modern feeding bottle evolved.

This was of high importance, because the cleaning was easier and the hygiene markedly improved [46]. Before the 19 th century the only alternatives to breast milk were either animal milk or some form of supplement, made with water, milk and flour like pap and panada.

By , dried milk became increasingly widely used and its popularity was firmly established. This rapid development was a mixed blessing, as many firms produced a wide number of formulas based upon variations in their composition of fat, protein and carbohydrate [47].

In parallel with the evolution of dried milk the development of numerous infant foods occurred. By there were 27 brands of infant foods available; this of course created confusion among healthcare professionals and parents, who did not know the composition and relative benefits of these products and to what extent, these were unsuitable for babies under 6 months of age. Unfortunately, these dried milks and starchy foods became the first nutrition for the infants.

This led to an increase of the incidence of scurvy and rickets, as these foods were insufficient in vital vitamins [28]. At the outset of the nineteenth century the first chemical analysis of human and other mammalian milk gave advantage to scientist, because it was widely known that human milk was the best for infants.

The fall in infant mortality, which occurred during the second half of the 18 th century, was carried over into the 19 th , but for the major part of the century it remained static, or even sustained a slight increase in the s.