Does Mother Nature Know Best?
by Angie Rankman One of the most perplexing topics for new mothers is one that should, ideally, be the most natural of choices: breastfeeding. Controversies continue between doctors, pediatricians and infant formula manufacturers over whether mothers should rely solely on breastfeeding alone; whether they should supplement or replace altogether breastfeeding with infant formulas; what age babies should be weaned, and at what age solid foods should be introduced. These are not trivial decisions as the choices a mother makes can affect the childs health for years to come. With the quantity of infant products currently available on the market, mothers could be forgiven for believing that the controversy over breastfeeding is a relatively recent one, but historical research shows that such debates have a long history. Virginia Thorley, of the University of Queensland, Australia, looked into the history of infant feeding in the 20th century and uncovered some interesting insights. “A lot of
