Tips for Parents - Breastfeeding

According to archeological evidence, breastfeeding has been the primary source of infant nutrition for over 10,000 years. However, written records show that by 2000 BC, some babies were wet-nursed or fed animal milks. These early civilizations thought the colostrum (first milk) was dirty, contaminated, stale, or constipating, leading to increasing popularity of wet-nursing.

During the 1600s and 1700s, socioeconomic class had a definite influence on the use of a wet nurse in middle and upper class Europe. Often times, parents never saw their infant from birth until weaning. Fortunately, wet-nursing declined over the next century. With the agricultural revolution came the introduction of cereal grains, gruel and animal milks into the infant's diet.

During the 1800s and 1900s, technological innovations improved artificial infant feeding with bottles, nipples, and early "formula". These improvements increased infant survival rates in the United States. Claims were made that these "formulas" matched human milk and was the perfect substitute.

By the early 1900s, breastfeeding rates began to plummet. By 1972, only 22% of mothers were breastfeeding. Two decades later, this figure increased to 60%. With the new millennium, even more mothers are choosing to breastfeed and with good reasons.