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BREASTFEEDING
A GUIDE FOR THE MEDICAL PROFESSION
Edited by
R U T H A . L AW R E N C E R O B E RT M. L AW R E N C E
Northumberland Trust Chair and Adjunct Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
Distinguished Alumna Professor Department of Pediatrics
Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and University of Florida College of Medicine
Gynecology; University of Rochester School of Gainesville, Florida
Medicine and Dentistry Rochester, New York
Associate Editors
L AW R E N C E N O B L E CASEY ROSEN-CAROLE
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of
New York, New York; Division of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry,
Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Medical Director of Lactation Services and
New York City Health 1 Hospitals, Programs, University of Rochester Medical
Elmhurst, New York Center, Rochester, New York
A L I S O N M. S T U E B E
Professor of Maternal-Fetal Medicine,
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
University of North Carolina School of
Medicine, Distinguished Professor of Infant
and Young Child Feeding, Department of
Maternal and Child Health, University of
North Carolina Gillings School of Global
Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Elsevier
1600 John F. Kennedy Blvd.
Ste 1800
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2899
BREASTFEEDING: A GUIDE FOR THE MEDICAL PROFESSION, NINTH EDITION ISBN: 978-0-323-68013-4
Copyright © 2022 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
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This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher
(other than as may be noted herein).
Notice
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and
using any information, methods, compounds or experiments described herein. Because of rapid advances
in the medical sciences, in particular, independent verification of diagnoses and drug dosages should be
made. To the fullest extent of the law, no responsibility is assumed by Elsevier, authors, editors, or
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contained in the material herein.
Previous editions copyrighted 2016, 2011, 2005, 1999, 1994, 1989, 1985, 1980.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020950231
Sincerely dedicated to
all of the health professionals who continue to support women
in their efforts to breastfeed their children
Robert M. Lawrence
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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
Cindy Calderon-Rodriguez, MD, Robert M. Lawrence, MD, FABM Lawrence Noble, MD, FAAP, FABM,
FAAP Adjunct Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, IBCLC
President (20192021) of the Puerto Rico Department of Pediatrics, University Associate Professor, Department of
Chapter of the American Academy of of Florida College of Medicine, Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at
Pediatrics, San Juan, Puerto Rico Gainesville, Florida Mount Sinai, New York, New York;
Division of Neonatology, Department
Melissa J. Chen, MD, MPH Ruth A. Lawrence, MD, DD (Hon), of Pediatrics, New York City Health 1
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and FABM, FAAP Hospitals, Elmhurst, New York
Gynecology, Department of Obstetrics Northumberland Trust Chair and
and Gynecology, University of Distinguished Alumna Professor, Casey Rosen-Carole, MD, MPH, MSEd
California Davis Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and
Sacramento, California and Gynecology, University of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University
Rochester School of Medicine of Rochester School of Medicine and
Katherine Blumoff Greenberg, MD and Dentistry, Rochester, Dentistry, Medical Director of
Associate Professor of Adolescent New York Lactation Services and Programs,
Medicine and General Gynecology, University of Rochester Medical
Departments of Pediatrics and Katrina B. Mitchell, MD, IBCLC, Center, Rochester, New York
Obstetrics/Gynecology, University of FACS
Rochester School of Medicine and Breast Surgical Oncologist and Lactation Alison M. Stuebe, MD, MSc
Dentistry, Rochester, New York Consultant, Surgical Oncology, Ridley Professor of Maternal-Fetal Medicine,
Tree Cancer Center at Sansum Clinic, Department of Obstetrics and
Ivan L. Hand, MD, FAAP Santa Barbara, California Gynecology, University of North
Director of Neonatology, Kings County Carolina School of Medicine,
Hospital, Professor of Pediatrics, Anita Noble, DNSc, CNM, CTN-A, Distinguished Professor of Infant and
SUNY Downstate School of Medicine, IBCLC Young Child Feeding, Department of
Brooklyn, New York Lecturer, Henrietta Szold/Hadassah- Maternal and Child Health, University
Hebrew University, School of of North Carolina Gillings School of
Helen M. Johnson, MD, IBCLC Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Global Public Health, Chapel Hill,
Resident Physician, Department of Jerusalem, Israel North Carolina
Surgery, East Carolina University/
Vidant Medical Center, Greenville,
North Carolina
vii
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FOREWORD FROM THE EIGHTH EDITION
Foreword reprinted from the 8th edition, with footnotes added for attract the mother and infant to each other and start their attach-
the 9th edition: The 5 years since the publication of the seventh ment. As pointed out back in the fifth edition, a strong, affection-
edition of this excellent book have been a time of incredible ate bond is most likely to develop successfully with breastfeeding,
advances in understanding several previously unknown physio- in which close contact and interaction occur repeatedly when an
logic and behavioral processes directly linked to or associated with infant wishes and at a pace that fits the needs and wishes of the
breastfeeding and beautifully described in this new volume. mother and the infant, resulting in gratification for both. Thus
These findings change our view of the motherinfant relation- breastfeeding plays a central role in the development of a strong
ship and signal an urgent need to completely review present peri- motherinfant attachment when begun with contact immediately
natal care procedures. These new research results include the after birth, which in turn has been shown to be a simple maneuver
observation that when an infant suckles from the breast, there is a to significantly increase the success of breastfeeding. All of these
large outpouring of 19 different gastrointestinal hormones, includ- exciting findings provide further evidence of why breastfeeding
ing cholecystokinin, gastrin, and insulin, in both mother and has been so crucial in the past and deserves strong support now.
infant. Several of these hormones stimulate the growth of the baby’s In addition, the past few years have been associated with fun-
and the mother’s intestinal villi, thus increasing the surface area for damental biochemical findings, including the importance of doco-
the absorption of additional calories with each feeding. The stimulus sahexaenoic acid (DHA) in optimal brain development. All in all,
for these changes is touching the nipple of the mother or the inside the many new observations described in this eighth edition place
of the infant’s mouth. The stimulus in both infant and mother milk and the process of breastfeeding in a key position in the
results in the release of oxytocin in the periventricular area of the development of many critical functions in human infants and their
brain, which leads to production of these hormones via the vagus mothers. We salute the author for her special skill in bringing
nerve. These pathways were essential for survival thousands of years together these many unique and original observations in this new
ago, when periods of famine were common, before the development and most valuable book.†
of modern agriculture and the storage of grain.
The discovery of the additional significance of a mother’s
breast and chest to the infant comes from the studies of Swedish
researchers who have shown that a normal infant, placed on the
mother’s chest, and covered with a light blanket, will warm or SUGGESTED READING
maintain body temperature as well as an infant warmed with elab- Christensson K, Cabrera T, Christensson E, et al. Separation dis-
orate, high-tech heating devices. The same researchers found that, tress call in the human neonate in the absence of maternal
when infants are skin-to-skin with their mothers for the first 90 body contact. In: Christensson K, ed. Care of the Newborn
minutes after birth, they hardly cry at all compared with infants Infant: Satisfying the Need for Comfort and Energy
who are dried, wrapped in a towel, and placed in a bassinet. In Conservation [thesis]. Stockholm: Karolinska Institute; 1994.
addition, the researchers demonstrated that if a newborn is left Christensson K, Siles C, Moreno L, et al. Temperature, metabolic
quietly on the mother’s abdomen after birth he or she will, after adaptation and crying in healthy newborn cared for skin-to-
about 30 minutes, gradually crawl up to the mother’s breast, find skin or in a cot. Acta Paediatr Scand. 1992;81:488.
the nipple, self-attach, and start to suckle on his or her own. Klaus M, Klaus P. Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Founder’s
It would appear that each of these features—the crawling abil- Lecture 2009: maternity care re-evaluated. Breastfeed Med.
ity of the infant, the absence of crying when skin-to-skin with the 2010;5(3):3.
mother, and the warming capabilities of the mother’s chest— Uvnäs-Moberg K. The gastrointestinal tract in growth and repro-
evolved genetically more than 400,000 years ago to help preserve duction. Sci Am. 1988;261:78.
the infant’s life. Widström AM, Ransjo-Arvidson AB, Christensson K, et al.
Research findings related to the 1991 Baby Friendly Hospital Gastric suction in healthy newborn infants: effects on circula-
Initiative (BFHI) of the World Health Organization and United tion and developing feeding behavior. Acta Paediatr Scand.
Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund provided insight 1987;76:566.
into an additional basic process. After the introduction of the BFHI, Widström AM, Wahlberg V, Matthiesen AS, et al. Short-term
which emphasized motherinfant contact with an opportunity for effects of early suckling and touch of the nipple on maternal
suckling in the first 30 minutes after birth and motherinfant behavior. Early Hum Dev. 1990;21:153.
rooming-in throughout the hospital stay, there has been a significant
drop in neonatal abandonment reported in maternity hospitals in John H. Kennell (19222013)
Thailand, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and St. Petersburg, Russia. Marshall H. Klaus (19272017)
A key to understanding this behavior is the observation that, if
the lips of an infant touch the mother’s nipple in the first half
hour of life, the mother will decide to keep the infant in her room
100 minutes longer on the second and third days of hospitalization
than a mother whose infant does not touch her nipple in the first
and ninth edition
†
30 minutes. It appears that these remarkable changes in maternal Ruth A. Lawrence remains the senior author and editor of this
behavior are probably related to increased brain oxytocin levels book, although her eldest son assists her and there are three new
shortly after birth. These changes, in conjunction with known associate editors for the ninth edition. See title page and
sensory, physiologic, immunologic, and behavioral mechanisms, contributors.
ix
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PREFACE
Almost five decades ago, work began on the first edition of committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Section
this text. Much has changed in the field of human lactation on Breastfeeding; and Dr. Alison Stuebe, Interim Director of
and in the world at large. The trickle of scientific work on the the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Medical
subject in 1975 has swollen into a river overflowing its banks. Director of Lactation Services at University of North Carolina
The Lactation Study Center at the University of Rochester and past president of the Academy of Breastfeeding
has more than 50,000 documents in its database that describe Medicine. They are each international board-certified lacta-
peer-reviewed scientific studies and reports, and every year tion consultants (IBCLCs) and faculty members of the
there are new controlled trials, systematic reviews, meta- Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (FABM). See the
analyses, and cost-based analyses of breastfeeding and the use Contents listing on page xiii for these editors’ extensive con-
of human milk. The field of lactation research has moved to tributions. The new authors also brought specific knowledge
the molecular and the genetic levels to analyze the chemical and experience related to breastfeeding and infant, maternal,
and component nature of breast milk and how that influences and family health. Dr. Katherine Blumoff Greenberg, a spe-
the infant’s growth and development and later immunologic, cialist in adolescent medicine and LGBTQ 1 health, contri-
allergic, metabolic, and overall health. Public health research buted to a new chapter, Chestfeeding and Lactation Care for
continues to examine the short-term and long-term benefits LGBTQ1 Families (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender,
of breast milk and breastfeeding for the infant and the Queer, Plus). Dr. Cindy Calderon, a pediatrician in Puerto
mother. Clinical research seeks to apply evidenced-based data Rico and active member of the AAP and ABM, oversaw the
to the practice, experience, and support of breastfeeding chapter on Infant Feeding After a Disaster. Dr. Ivan Hand,
within communities and for individual women and families. Director of Neonatology at SUNY, Downstate, King’s County
It is not simply the application of specific protocols and poli- Hospital added his expertise to the chapter on Premature
cies but thoughtful consideration and individualized support Infants and Breastfeeding. Dr. Helen Johnson and Dr.
for the breastfeeding mother-infant dyad that leads to a Katrina Mitchell, IBCLC and FABM, brought their experi-
mother reaching her breastfeeding goals. ence in general surgery and expertise in breast surgery to a
The ninth edition of this text is symbolic, in that Dr. Ruth new separate chapter addressing Breast Conditions in the
Lawrence raised nine children beginning with breastfeeding Breastfeeding Mother. Dr. Anita Noble contributed her
each one. This experience intimately connected her with the expertise as a transcultural scientist and scholar to the chapter
role and efforts required of a breastfeeding mother. It was this on the Collection and Storage of Human Milk and Human
experience, with intellectual curiosity and recognition of the Milk Banking. Dr. Melissa Chen collaborated with Dr. Alison
importance of breast milk and breastfeeding to the health of Stuebe for the chapter on Reproductive Function During
the maternalinfant dyad, that led to her persistence in the Lactation.
study of breastfeeding and the creation of nine editions. Over Key areas on anatomy and physiology of lactation, medi-
the years, several of her children have contributed in different cations in breast milk, transmission of infectious diseases
ways to its publication, and now her grandchildren through breast milk, allergy and its relationship to breastfeed-
Madeleine Morris, Nathaniel Lawrence, and Jackson Morris ing, and allergen exposure and avoidance have been updated
have added their kind and loving assistance to the book and for this edition. Important evolving topics have been
their “Grammy.” expanded with the newest information, such as the cellular
The intent of this volume remains to provide the basic composition of breast milk and its importance to maternal
tools of knowledge and experience that will enable a clinician and infant health, the microbiota of the breast and human
to provide thoughtful counseling and guidance to the breast- milk and its possible roles in metabolism and infant immu-
feeding family that is most applicable to the particular breast- nity, reproductive justice and contraceptive equity, the role of
feeding dyad and the circumstances, problems, and lifestyle patient-centered counseling as a crucial skill for clinicians
involved. Given the speed with which medical and scientific communicating with women and families about infant feed-
information about breast milk and breastfeeding is expand- ing, the multifunctional role of human milk oligosaccharides
ing, the simple presentation of current algorithms, guidelines, in nutrition, immunity and gastrointestinal development,
recommendations, and protocols will be inadequate to foster breastfeeding and chestfeeding in LGBTQ 1 families, and
thoughtful counseling and guidance. With that challenge in breastsleeping. The chapters on the breastfeeding manage-
mind facing the ninth edition we have invited three associate ment of infants with problems and the use of human milk for
editors and several additional physicians and scientists as premature infants have expanded data and discussion. Four
authors to develop this edition. new chapters have been added to this edition: Breast
The associate editors include Dr. Casey Rosen-Carole, Conditions in the Breastfeeding Mother; Chestfeeding and
Medical Director of Lactation Services and Programs at the Lactation Care for LGBTQ 1Families; Infant Feeding After a
University of Rochester; Dr. Lawrence Noble, a perinatology Disaster; and Establishing a Breastfeeding Medicine Practice
and neonatology specialist and previously on the executive or Academic Department.
xi
xii PREFACE
With the ninth edition secure online, we have a number of Content Development Specialist Anne Snyder for their out-
individuals to thank. standing support, patience, and perseverance in bringing the
We thank Jane Eggiman again for providing invaluable ninth edition to fruition. We are grateful to the new associate
support as she has for past editions and Zoe Black who res- editors and the authors for their expertise, insight, professional-
cued fresh information from library archives and data bases, ism, and invaluable contributions to the richness and complete-
searching out many citations, bibliographies, and elusive ness of this ninth edition. Finally, we would like to genuinely
details. We thank all the lactation consultants and medical doc- thank the readers of this ninth edition. We applaud your efforts
tors who have called the lactation center with their challenging for promotion and support of breastfeeding, lactation, and use
clinical issues and questions. We sincerely appreciate the many of breast milk. We humbly offer this text as a starting point to
physicians and scientists who continue breast milk and lactation garner existing knowledge on breastfeeding, and to stimulate
research worldwide. We continue to be grateful to Rosemary novel discussion. We hope this edition will advance a continued
Disney (19232014) for the creation of the enduring breast- search for new information and answers to the issues and
feeding symbol on the cover. We are indebted to Dr. Rich dilemmas facing breastfeeding mothers and their infants and
Miller at the University of Rochester for his continued support families.
of the Lactation Study Center and our work on this newest edi- Ruth A. Lawrence
tion. We thank the team of experts at our publisher, Elsevier Robert M. Lawrence
and especially content strategist Sarah Barth and Senior
CONTENTS
xiii
xiv CONTENTS
Bedsharing and Breastfeeding: The Academy of Breastfeeding ABM Clinical Protocol #22: Guidelines for Management of
Medicine Protocol #6, Revision 2019, 818 Jaundice in the Breastfeeding Infant 35 Weeks or More of
Gestation—Revised 2017, 950
ABM Clinical Protocol #7: Model Maternity Policy Supportive
of Breastfeeding, 830 ABM Clinical Protocol #23: Nonpharmacological Management
of Procedure-Related Pain in the Breastfeeding Infant,
ABM Clinical Protocol #8: Human Milk Storage Information for Revised 2016, 959
Home Use for Full-Term Infants, Revised 2017, 847
ABM Clinical Protocol #24: Allergic Proctocolitis in the
ABM Clinical Protocol #9: Use of Galactagogues in Initiating Exclusively Breastfed Infant, 965
or Augmenting Maternal Milk Production, Second
Revision 2018, 853 ABM Clinical Protocol #25: Recommendations for
Preprocedural Fasting for the Breastfed Infant: “NPO”
ABM Clinical Protocol #10: Breastfeeding the Late Preterm Guidelines, 971
(3436 6/7 Weeks of Gestation) and Early Term Infants (3738
6/7 Weeks of Gestation), Second Revision 2016, 862
ABM Clinical Protocol #26: Persistent Pain with
Breastfeeding, 978
ABM Clinical Protocol #11: Guidelines for the Evaluation and
Management of Neonatal Ankyloglossia and Its Complications ABM Clinical Protocol #27: Breastfeeding an Infant or Young
in the Breastfeeding Dyad, 870 Child with Insulin-Dependent Diabetes, 987
ABM Clinical Protocol #12: Transitioning the Breastfeeding ABM Clinical Protocol #28: Peripartum Analgesia and
Preterm Infant from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to Home, Anesthesia for the Breastfeeding Mother, 993
Revised 2018, 874
ABM Clinical Protocol #29: Iron, Zinc, and Vitamin D
ABM Clinical Protocol #13: Contraception During Supplementation During Breastfeeding, 1002
Breastfeeding, Revised 2015, 882
ABM Clinical Protocol #30: Breast Masses, Breast Complaints,
ABM Clinical Protocol #14: Breastfeeding-Friendly Physician’s and Diagnostic Breast Imaging in the Lactating Woman, 1010
Office: Optimizing Care for Infants and Children, Revised
2013, 892 ABM Clinical Protocol #31: Radiology and Nuclear Medicine
Studies in Lactating Women, 1017
ABM Clinical Protocol #15: Analgesia and Anesthesia for the
Breastfeeding Mother, Revised 2017, 899
ABM Clinical Protocol #32: Management of Hyperlactation,
1023
ABM Clinical Protocol #16: Breastfeeding the Hypotonic Infant,
Revision 2016, 906
Educational Objectives and Skills for the Physician with
Respect to Breastfeeding, Revised 2018, 1029
ABM Clinical Protocol #17: Guidelines for Breastfeeding
Infants with Cleft Lip, Cleft Palate, or Cleft Lip and
Palate—Revised 2019, 912 ABM Clinical Protocol #33: Lactation Care for Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Plus Patients 2020,
available online
ABM Clinical Protocol #18: Use of Antidepressants in
Breastfeeding Mothers, 920
ABM Clinical Protocol #34: Breast Cancer and Breastfeeding
2020, available online
ABM Clinical Protocol #19: Breastfeeding Promotion in the
Prenatal Setting, Revision 2015, 930
Appendix J: Medical Education for Basic Proficiency in
ABM Clinical Protocol #20: Engorgement, Revised 2016, 937 Breastfeeding, 1039
Casey Rosen-Carole
ABM Clinical Protocol #21: Guidelines for Breastfeeding Appendix K: Glossary, 1041
and Substance Use or Substance Use Disorder,
Revised 2015, 942 Index, 1049
1
Breastfeeding in a New Era
Robert M. Lawrence and Ruth A. Lawrence
KEY POINTS
• The long history of breastfeeding has brought us to a better • Disparities in breastfeeding exist. By addressing the inequi-
understanding of the crucial role of human breast milk in the ties with a social justice framework, we can support women
nutrition and growth and development of infants and children. in reaching their individual breastfeeding goals and nations
• Research into lactation, breastfeeding, and human breast in achieving national and global targets of breastfeeding
milk will guide how we support breastfeeding and the use success.
of breast milk for all children. National and international
legislation and policy development are necessary for the
protection and promotion of breastfeeding worldwide.
Breast milk, breastfeeding, and lactation have been described families. The science of breast milk and lactation and the big
in many different ways depending on the situation and the per- data of public health are driving public and political action
spective. B. D. Raphael called breastfeeding the “tender gift.”1 regarding procedures, policies, and legislation of infant-
Various health agencies (e.g., American Academy of Pediatrics feeding practices.1315 Persistent disparities in breastfeeding
[AAP], American Public Health Association [APHA], Centers success by race/ethnicity, geography, and class are pushing
for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], US Department of social justice action to improve the protection, promotion, and
Health and Human Services [DHHS]) present the view of support of breastfeeding for all women. Seeking equity in
breastfeeding as a “public health priority.”2 George Kent says access to care and striving for honest and fair social responsi-
that “breastfeeding is a universal human right.”3 Deborah bility in health care for the least advantaged populations and
McCarter-Spaulding states, “Breastfeeding is, by its very defini- individuals are key to increasing breastfeeding opportunity
tion, a family affair.”4 Paige Hall Smith postulates that “the and success.5,16 So, going forward, how do we navigate the
‘right’ to breastfeed is balanced with the right of women to numerous and perhaps competing forces in the support and
make their own decisions about how they will feed their promotion of breastfeeding? To do this, we need clear and
babies.” Smith also comments that breastfeeding is a “compli- meaningful communication of common goals and mutual col-
cated mix of food, biology, gender, caregiving and love.”5 So laboration to share lessons learned and effective interventions
how did we get to this mix of conceptualizations and perspec- between the various “stakeholder” groups but especially com-
tives? Historians certainly can provide us with insight as well munication with the women and families trying to make
as discussion and debate of the contributing factors to the cur- informed infant-feeding choices and working to reach their
rent state of breastfeeding and use of human milk around the personal breastfeeding goals. Hopefully, this chapter and book
world.1,611 Thulier provides another perspective and a good will continue to serve as a guide for the medical profession in
discussion of influencing factors on breastfeeding in the breast milk, lactation, and breastfeeding and the future of these
United States.12 She highlights religious, social, and medical in the health and welfare of infants and mothers.
variables on the backdrop of infant nutrition and survival,
especially when lactation/breastfeeding is insufficient or fails.
Breast-milk substitutes have played and continue to play a
EARLY HISTORY OF BREASTFEEDING
dominant role in infant-feeding practices and the “commer- The world history and scientific literature, predominantly
cialization” of infant feeding. Now the use of donor human from countries other than the United States, includes many
milk (DHM; through milk banks, cross-feeding, milk sharing) tributes to human milk. Early writings on infant care in the
is taking an increasing role in infant nutrition. Governmental 1800s and early 1900s pointed out the hazards of serious
and nongovernmental agencies and initiatives track breast- infection in bottle-fed infants. Mortality charts were clear
feeding rates and strive to increase those via promotion, on the difference in mortality risk between breastfed and
protection, and support of breastfeeding women and their bottle-fed infants.17 Only in recent history have the reasons
1
2 CHAPTER 1 Breastfeeding in a New Era
They had a notion that breastfeeding spoiled their figures and infants.” As early as 1705, laws controlling wet nursing
made them old before their time. Husbands had much to say required wet nurses to register, forbade them to nurse more
about how the infants were fed. Wet nurses were replaced by than two infants in addition to their own, and stipulated that
feeding cereal or bread gruel from a spoon. The death rate in a crib should be available for each infant, to prevent the nurse
foundling homes from this practice approached 100%. from taking a baby to bed and chancing suffocation.20 On the
The Dowager Countess of Lincoln wrote on “the duty of birth of the Prince of Wales (later George IV) in 1762, it was
nursing, due by mothers to their children” in 1662.7 She had officially announced: wet nurse, Mrs. Scott; dry nurse, Mrs.
borne 18 children, all fed by wet nurses; only one survived. Chapman; rockers, Jane Simpson and Catherine Johnson.24
When her son’s wife bore a child and nursed it, the countess A more extensive historical review by Apple would reveal
saw the error of her ways. She cited the biblical example of other examples of social problems in achieving adequate care
Eve, who breastfed Cain, Abel, and Seth. She deemed not of infants.9 Long before our modern society, some women
breastfeeding a child to be crueler than ostriches hiding their failed to accept their biologic role as nursing mothers, and
eggs in the earth and said that a woman would have to be hard- society failed to provide adequate support for nursing
ened against her young ones as though they were not hers, a mothers. Breastfeeding was more common and of longer
reference to Job 39:1316. The noblewoman concluded her duration in stable eras and rarer in periods of “social dazzle”
appeal to women to avoid her mistakes: “Be not so unnatural as and lowered moral standards. Urban mothers have had
to thrust away your own children; be not so hardy as to venture greater access to alternatives (wet nurses, milk agencies, and
a tender babe to a less tender breast; be not accessory to that artificial infant feedings), and rural women have had to con-
disorder of causing a poorer woman to banish her own infant tinue to breastfeed in greater numbers.7,9,25
for the entertaining of a richer woman’s child, as it were bid-
ding her to unlove her own to love yours.” “Feeding by the Book”
Toward the end of the 18th century in England, the trend In the 1920s, women were encouraged to raise their infants sci-
of wet nursing and artificial feeding changed, partially entifically. “Raising by the book” was commonplace. L. Emmett
because medical writers drew attention to health and well- Holt, MD, a renowned pediatrician, published his book The
being of breastfed infants and because mothers were influ- Care and Feeding of Children, which, although it recommended
enced to breastfeed their young.8 breastfeeding, interfered with “on-demand” feeding by recom-
In 18th-century France, both before and during the revo- mending regimentation in feeding. There were 75 printings of
lution that swept Louis XVI from the throne and brought this popular book from 1894 to the 1940s.12 The US govern-
Napoleon to power, infant feeding included maternal nurs- ment published Infant Care in 1914 because of the high rates of
ing, wet nursing, artificial feeding with the milk of animals, infant death in the United States at that time. It was referred to
and feeding of pap and panada.23 Panada is from the French as the “good book,” which was the bible of child-rearing read
panade, meaning bread, and means a food consisting of by women from all walks of life.26 It was republished in 1935 by
bread, water or other liquid, and seasoning and boiled to the the Child’s Bureau of the US Department of Labor and again
consistency of pulp (Fig. 1.2). The majority of infants born to multiple times up through 1989, the year of the final edition.27
wealthy and middle-income women, especially in Paris, were The 1935 edition emphasized breastfeeding over artificial milk
placed with wet nurses. In 1718, Dionis wrote, “Today not mixtures and recommended that when mothers could not pro-
only ladies of nobility, but yet the rich and the wives of the vide breast milk to their infants of less than 6 months of age,
least of the artisans have lost the custom of nursing their then employing a wet nurse or obtaining breast milk from a
“breast-milk agency” or from friends or relatives was preferred.
For the introduction of solid foods, the 1935 text recommended
cod liver oil, egg yolk, stewed fruits, and potatoes. A quote from
Parents magazine in 1938 reflects the attitude of women’s
magazines in general, undermining even the staunchest breast-
feeders: “You hope to nurse him, but there are an alarming
number of young mothers today who are unable to breastfeed
their babies and you may be one of them.”9 Apple detailed the
transition from breastfeeding to raising children scientifically,
by the book, and precisely as the doctor prescribes.9
Around the same time, the end of the 19th century and
beginning of the 20th century, there were dramatic disparities
in infant mortality between breastfed and artificially fed (modi-
fied animal milk) infants. This was evident in reports covering
50,000 infants, where mortality in artificially fed infants was
Fig. 1.2 Pewter pap spoon, circa AD 1800. Thin pap, a mixture of
3 to 10 times higher than in breastfed infants in Chicago,
bread and water, was placed in a bowl. The tip of the bowl was
placed in the child’s mouth. Flow could be controlled by placing a Minnesota, other US sites, and Britain.17,28,29 In the rest of the
finger over the open end of the hollow handle. If the contents were world, especially nonindustrialized countries, the higher mor-
not taken as rapidly as desired, one could blow down the handle. tality was associated with early weaning (,6 months of age).30
4 CHAPTER 1 Breastfeeding in a New Era
AN UNPLEASANT
As Ambinàny, the Tanàla[28] chief, whose village we RIDE
were bound for, did not make his appearance, we
went off in the afternoon to another village, Iòlomàka, about three or
four miles away to the south-east. It was a cold unpleasant ride in
the drizzling rain. We reached the village, which is situated on a bare
hill, in an hour and a quarter, and with some difficulty found a
tolerably level place on which to pitch the tent, but everything was
wet. The rain came down faster than ever, and began to come
through the canvas in some places. During the afternoon we in our
tent formed for the villagers a free, and evidently popular, exhibition,
which might have been entitled, “The Travelling Foreigners in their
Tent.” We and our belongings, and our most trivial actions, were the
subject of intensest interest to the people. They came peeping in
and, uninvited, took their seats to gaze. I suspect they thought we
travelled in a style of Oriental magnificence, for my companion’s
gorgeous striped rug evidently struck them as being the ne plus ultra
of earthly grandeur. But we did not look upon ourselves this evening
quite in that light; for the slightly higher ground on two sides of the
tent led the water into the structure, and there was soon a
respectable-sized pool on my friend’s side of the tent, above which
the boxes had to be raised by stones and tent-hammers; while the
drip upon our beds raised the probability that we might be able to
take our baths in the morning before getting up. It was our dampest
experience hitherto of tent life.
The following evening found us at Ivòhitròsa, after one of the most
difficult and fatiguing journeys we had ever taken in Madagascar. It
was quite dark when we arrived here, wet, weary, muddy and
hungry, having eaten no food since the morning.
But to begin at the beginning. Bed was so much the INTERESTED
most comfortable place, with a wet tent, a small pond PUBLIC
at one end of it, and a mass of mud at the other, that we did not turn
out so early or so willingly as usual, especially as there was a thick
mist and heavy drizzle, as there had been all night. The general
public outside, however, evidently thought it high time the exhibition
opened for a morning performance; and so, without our intending it,
there was a performance, which, if there had been a daily paper at
Iòlomàka, might have been described as consisting of five acts or
scenes, as follows:—Scene first: Distinguished foreigners are seen
lying in bed, so comfortably tucked up that they feel most unwilling to
get out on to the wet and muddy floor. Curtains only half drawn (by
an eager public) during this act. Scene second: Somewhat of a
misnomer, as D. F. were, by the exercise of some ingenuity, not seen
during the operations of bathing and washing. Scene third: D. F.
seen by admiring public—who again admitted themselves—in the
act of brushing their hair and performing their toilet. Scene fourth: D.
F. seen at their breakfast; the variety of their food, dishes, plates,
etc., a subject of mute amazement. Scene fifth and last: D. F. seen
rapidly packing up all their property for their approaching departure.
N.B.—Probably their last appearance on this stage. We packed up in
the heavy drizzle, and fortunately, just as we were about to start,
three or four Tanàla came up and agreed to be our guides. We had
to wait until they had their rice, but at last we got away, soon after
ten o’clock, rather too late as it turned out.
Our way for more than two hours was through the outskirts of the
forest: a succession of low hills partially covered with wood, and
divided from each other by swampy valleys. In these we had two or
three times to cross deepish streams by bridges of a single round
pole, a foot or two under water, a ticklish proceeding, which all our
luggage bearers did not accomplish successfully. After crossing a
stream by the primitive bridge of a tree which had fallen half over the
water, we entered the real forest, our general direction being to the
south-east.
And now for an hour and a half we had to pass through dense
forest by a narrow footpath, where no filanjàna (palanquin) could be
carried (at least with its owner seated on it). Up and down, down and
up, stooping under fallen trees, or climbing over them, soon getting
wet through with the dripping leaves on either hand, and the mud
and water underfoot—we had little time to observe anything around
us, lest a tree root or a slippery place should trip us up. At two-fifteen
we came to an open clearing, and thought our difficulties were over,
but presently we plunged into denser forest than ever, and up and
down rougher paths. Notwithstanding the danger of looking about, it
was impossible to avoid admiring the luxuriance of the vegetation.
Many of the trees were enormously high, and so buttressed round
their trunks that they were of great girth at the ground. The tree-ferns
seemed especially large, with an unusual number of fronds; and the
creeper bamboo festooned the large trees with its delicate pinnate
leaves.
It soon became evident that we were descending, A DEEP GORGE
and that pretty rapidly. For a considerable distance we
had a stream on our left hand, which roared and foamed over a
succession of rapids, going to the south-east; and every now and
then we caught glimpses of the opening in the woods made by the
stream, presenting lovely bits of forest scenery in real tropical
luxuriance. The sun shone out for a few minutes, but presently it
clouded over, and heavy rain came on. The increasing roar of waters
told of an unusually large fall, and in a few minutes we came down
an opening where we could see the greater part of it, a large body of
water rushing down a smooth slope of rock about a hundred feet
deep, and at an angle of forty-five degrees. Three or four times we
had to cross the stream, on rocks in and out of the water, with a
powerful current sweeping around and over them. We found after a
while that we had come down to the side of a deep gorge in the hills
which rose hundreds of feet on each side of it, and down which the
stream descended rapidly by a series of grand cascades to the lower
and more open country which we could see at intervals through
openings in the woods.
At half-past four we emerged from the forest and came down by a
steep slippery path through bush and jungle. And now there opened
before us one of the grandest scenes that can be imagined. The
valley, down which we had come, opened out into a tremendous
hollow or bay, three or four miles across, and more than twice as
long, running into the higher level of the country from which we had
descended. The hills, or, rather, edges of the upper plateau, rise
steeply all round this great bay, covered with wood to their summits,
which are from two thousand to three thousand feet above the lower
country. Between these bold headlands we could count four or five
waterfalls, two of them falling in a long riband of foam several
hundred feet down perpendicular faces of rock. Between the opening
points of this great valley, three or four miles apart, could be seen a
comparatively level undulating country, with patches of wood and the
windings of the river Màtitànana. On a green hill to the north side of
the valley was a group of houses, which we were glad to hear was
Ivòhitròsa, our destination. This hill we found was seven hundred
feet above the stream at its foot, but it looked small compared with
the towering heights around it. At last we reached the bottom of the
valley, crossed the stream, and presently commenced the steep
ascent to the village. It was quite dark before we reached it, muddy,
wet and tired out; we had been eight hours on the way, and five and
a half on foot over extremely rough and fatiguing paths. The native
chief and his people had overtaken us in the forest and went on first
to prepare a house for us.
We found that the best dwelling in the village was A STRIKING
ready, and a bright fire blazing on the hearth. It was PICTURE
with some difficulty that we got all our baggage arranged inside, for,
although the largest house available, it was rather smaller than our
tent, and nearly a quarter of it was occupied by the hearth and the
space around it. At one side of the fire were sitting four young
women, the daughters of the chief. A glance at these young ladies
showed us that we had come into the territory of a tribe different from
any we had yet seen. They were lightly clothed in a fine mat
wrapped round their waists, but were highly ornamented on their
heads, necks, and arms. A fillet of small white beads, an inch or so
wide, was round their heads, fastened by a circular metal plate on
their foreheads. From their necks hung several necklaces of long
oval white beads and smaller red ones. On their wrists they had
silver rings, and a sort of broad bracelet of small black, white, and
red beads; and on every finger and on each thumb were rings of
brass wire. In the glancing firelight they certainly made a striking
picture of barbaric ornamentations; and notwithstanding their dark
skins and numerous odd little tails of hair, some of them were comely
enough. We had soon to ask them to retire in order to stow away our
packages and get some tea ready. The house was raised a foot or
so from the ground, the inside lined with mats, and so was a
pleasant change from our damp lodgings of the previous evening.
Next morning, on opening our window, we had RICE-HOUSES
before us, two or three miles across the great basin or
valley, three waterfalls, one descending in a long white line and
almost lost in spray before it reaches the bottom. The sunlight
revealed all the beauties of the scene around us, and made us long
for the power to transfer to canvas or paper its chief outlines. Were
such a neighbourhood as this in an accessible part of any European
country, it would rapidly become famous for its scenery. We found
the village of Ivòhitròsa to consist of twelve houses only, enclosed
within a ròva of pointed stakes; but besides these are several rice-
houses or tràno àmbo (“high houses”) mounted on posts five or six
feet above the ground, each post having a circular wooden ring just
under the flooring rafters, and projecting eight or nine inches, so as
to prevent the rats ascending and helping themselves to rice. I
sincerely wished last night that the dwelling-houses had a similar
arrangement, for the rats had a most jovial night of it in our lodgings,
being doubtless astonished at the number and variety of the
packages just arrived. The house we are in, as well as others in the
village, has carved horns at the gables, not the crossed straight
timbers so called in Hova houses, but curved like bullocks’ horns.
The people appear to have no slaves here, for the daughters of the
chief, in all their ornaments, are pounding rice, four at one mortar.
At this part of the island the high interior plateau seems to
descend by one great step to the coast plains, and not by two, as it
does farther north; for our aneroid told us that we came down
twenty-five hundred feet yesterday, and that the stream at the foot of
this hill is only five hundred or six hundred feet above sea-level. And
the two lines of forest one crosses farther on are here united into
one.
The men and many of the women wear a rather high round skull-
cap made of fine plait; the women wear little except a mat sewn
together at the ends, so as to form a kind of sack, and fastened by a
cord round the waist, and only occasionally pulled up high enough to
cover the bosom. Those who are nursing infants have also a small
figured mat about eighteen inches square on their backs and
suspended by a cord from the neck; this is called lòndo, and is used
to protect the child from the sun or rain, as it lies in a fold of the mat
above the girdle. Some of the men wear a mat as a làmba, and only
a few have làmbas of coarse rofìa or hemp cloth. The people here
blacken their teeth with a root, which gives them an unpleasant
appearance as they open their mouths; not all the teeth, however,
are thus disfigured, but chiefly those at the back, leaving the front
ones white; in some cases the lower teeth are alternately black and
white.
The morning of one of our four days at Ivòhitròsa was employed in
trying to get a good view of the largest of the waterfalls which pour
down into the large valley already mentioned. Mounting a spur of the
main hills, we had a good view of this chief fall up a deep gorge to
the south, and so opening into the main valley as not to be visible
from the village. This is certainly a most magnificent fall of water. The
valley ends in a semicircular wall of rock crowned by forest, and over
this pours at one leap the river Màtitànana. Knowing the heights of
some of the neighbouring hills, we judged that the fall could not be
less than from five hundred to six hundred feet in depth, and from
the foot rises a continual cloud of spray, like smoke, with a roar
which reverberates up the rocky sides of the valley; even from two or
three miles’ distance, which was as near as we could get, it was a
very grand sight.
While on this little excursion we had a feast of MALAGASY
another kind. On our way home we came across a RASPBERRIES
large cluster of bushes full of wild raspberries. This fruit is common
on the borders of the forest, but we never before saw it in such
quantities, or of so large a size, or of so sweet a taste. The Malagasy
raspberry is a beautiful scarlet fruit, larger than the European kind;
and while perhaps not quite equal in flavour to those grown in
England, is by no means to be despised; and we were able on that
day to enjoy it to our heart’s content.
A Group of Tanàla Girls in Full Dress
Tanàla Girls Singing and Clapping Hands
IVÒHITRÒSA
O
UR Sunday at Ivòhitròsa was such a novel and interesting
one that I shall depart for once from my rule of omitting in
these chapters mention of our religious work. It was a wet
morning, so that it was after eleven o’clock before the rain ceased
and we could call the people together. A good many had come up
from the country round on the previous day to see us, and we
collected them on a long and pretty level piece of rock which forms
one side of the little square around which the houses are built. When
all had assembled, there must have been nearly three hundred
present, including our own men, who grouped themselves near us. It
was certainly the strangest congregation we had ever addressed, for
the men had their weapons, while the women looked very
heathenish. Some few had put some slight covering over the upper
part of their bodies, but most were just as they ordinarily appeared,
some with hair and necks dripping with castor oil, and with their
conspicuous bead ornaments on head, neck, and arms. One could
not but feel deeply moved to see these poor ignorant folks, the great
majority of them joining for the first time in Christian worship, and
hearing for the first time the news of salvation. And remembering our
own ignorance of much of their language, the utter strangeness of
the message we brought, and the darkness of their minds, we could
not but feel how little we could in one brief service do to quicken their
apprehension of things spiritual and eternal. We had some of our
most hearty lively hymns and tunes, our men assisting us well in the
singing; after Mr Street had spoken to the people from a part of the
Sermon on the Mount, I also addressed them, trying in as simple a
manner as was possible to tell them what we had come for, what that
“glad tidings” was which we taught them. On account of the rain,
work in the afternoon had to be confined to what could be done in
our tent, which was crammed full, and in our house.[29]
That there was great need for enlightenment may be seen from
what we heard from the people themselves—viz. that there are (or
were) eight unlucky days in every month, and that children born on
those days were killed by their being held with their faces immersed
in water in the winnowing-fan. So that on an average, more than a
quarter of the children born were destroyed! The Tanàla names for
the months are all different from those used in Imèrina; they have no
names for the weekdays, and indeed no division of time by sevens,
but the days throughout each month (lunar) are known by twelve
names, some applied to two days and others to three days
consecutively, and these day names are nearly all identical with the
Hova names for the months. Each of the days throughout the month
has its fàdy, or food which must not be eaten when travelling on that
day.
After our four days’ stay at Ivòhitròsa, we managed to get on our
way towards the coast, not, however, without having considerable
difficulty with our bearers, who were afraid of any new and hitherto
untried route, for we were the first Europeans to travel in this
direction. By tact and firmness we managed to secure our point; and
on the Thursday afternoon we came down to the river Màtitànana,
which is at this point a very fine broad stream, with a rapid and deep
current. It flows here through a nearly straight valley for four or five
miles in a southerly direction, with low bamboo-covered hills on
either side, and its channel much broken by rocky islands. To cross
this stream, about a hundred yards wide at this place, no canoes
were available, but there was a bamboo raft called a zàhitra.
Of all the rude, primitive and ramshackle THE ZÀHITRA
contrivances ever invented for water carriage,
commend me to a zàhitra. This one consisted of about thirty or forty
pieces of bamboo, from ten to twelve feet long, lashed together by
bands of some tough creeper or vàhy, which said bamboos were
constantly slipping out of their places and needed trimming at every
trip, and the fastenings had to be refixed. The zàhitra would take
only two boxes and one man at a trip, besides the captain of the raft,
and when loaded was from a third to a half of it under water. The
civilisation of the people about here seemed to have not yet
produced a paddle; a split bamboo supplied (very imperfectly) the
place of one. Owing to the strong current and the feeble navigating
appliances available, not more than about four trips over and back
again could be made in an hour. And so there on the bank we sat
from a little after two o’clock until nearly six, watching the ferrying
over of our baggage, and then of our bearers. At sunset a good
number of our men were still on the wrong side of the water, and so,
as there was no possibility of getting them all over that day, and
neither Mr S. nor I relished the prospect of a voyage on a zàhitra in
the dark, we crossed at a little after sunset. We made a safe
passage, but got considerably wet during its progress; Mr S. took an
involuntary foot-bath, and I a sitz-bath. The rest of our men returned
to a village overlooking the river, while we went a little way up the
woods and, finding a level spot, pitched the tent there, our bearers
who had crossed occupying two or three woodcutters’ huts which
were fortunately close at hand.
During the three or four hours’ waiting on the river A VILLAGE BELLE
bank we had a good opportunity of observing the
people from the village just above, who came down to watch our
passage over the water. Amongst them was a girl whose
appearance was so striking that I must attempt a description of her.
She was a comely lassie, although a dark-skinned one, and was so
ornamented as to be conspicuous among her companions even at
some distance. Round her head she had the same fillet of white
beads with a metal plate in the front which we had observed at
Ivòhitròsa, but from it depended a row of small beads like drops. On
each side of her temples hung a long ornament of hair and beads
reaching below her chin, several beads hung from her ears, and a
number of white and oblong beads were worked into her hair at the
back. Round her neck she had six strings of large beads, and
another passing over one shoulder and under the arm. On each wrist
were three or four silver bracelets, while on every finger and thumb
were several coils of brass wire. Her clothing was a piece of bark
cloth fastened just above the hips, over a skirt of fine mat, and on
each toe was a brass ring. Thus “from top to toe” she was got up
regardless of expense; she was probably the daughter of the chief;
anyhow, she was evidently the village belle, and seemed well aware
of the fact.
Tanàla Spearmen
Note the wooden shields covered with bullock’s hide, and
the charm on a man’s breast. They are very expert
spearmen
Our route towards the sea was now over a comparatively level
country, but not without many steep ascents and descents, and
generally following the valley of the Màtitànana. As I took with me a