Breastfeeding
and Its Global Impact
Antonieta Hernández,
MD
Reported by Kathy Kerr
Arlington, Virginia, USA
From: LEAVEN, Vol. 35 No. 5, October 1999-November 1999, p.109
This session could also have
been titled "The History of Breastfeeding Activism." Now that
we are at the end of this century it's especially appropriate to look
at the global impact of breastfeeding. In the 15th and 16th centuries
there was little information about artificial feeding. In the 17th and
18th centuries, wet nursing was in fashion. Babies from wealthy homes
were often sent away from their mothers to farmwives to be breastfed
and cared for in the fresh country air. Wet nurses were highly regarded.
In Egypt, slaves often served as wet nurses which helped to raise their
status. However, a child breastfed by his own mother would be more likely
to be the heir. Simon Bolivar was a famous Latin American general. When
he was born, his mother had tuberculosis and was unable to breastfeed.
He was wet nursed for two years and in his letters he frequently referred
to his wet nurse with great affection. In Caracas, Venezuela there is
a statue honoring her.
In the 19th and 20th centuries
artificial baby milk began to be increasingly available. And mother-to-mother
support that had been passed down through the generations began to break
down. In the latter half of the 20th century there was a huge increase
in recognition of the importance of breastfeeding around the globe.
La Leche League was founded in 1956. In 1964 Nursing Mothers of Australia
was created. In 1968 a breastfeeding organization was founded in Norway.
International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) is a partnership of over
150 groups in over 90 countries founded in the early 1970s. In the early
1990s, following the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) meeting
on breastfeeding, World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) was
created. There was a WABA Global Forum in Bangkok in 1996. The Baby
Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) begun in the 1990s is increasing
breastfeeding rates around the world.
Throughout the presentation
we viewed beautiful slides taken by a Venezuelan father of his breastfeeding
family.
There is still a long way
to go as we enter the new millennium, but powerful organizations such
as La Leche League International, IBFAN and WABA continue to make a
difference for mothers, babies and families around the globe.
Last updated September 18, 2006 by jlm.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:31:24 UTC 2007.
