once again, i forgot to add something:
while we're speaking of poverty....
also in developed countries such as germany those who'd profit the
most from breastfeeding, the relatively poor like welfare moms,
working poor etc, do not breastfeed.
the breastfeeding rates are slightly better in certain migrant
communities like the turkish, but the percentage gets lower with every
generation (due to assimiliation and the weakened family bonds) plus
the women are not used to seek help outside their families and
communities - you'd rarely find a turkish mom at a lll-meeting (or any
other breastfeeding support group), it's mostly "white middle-class".

nina

2009/6/27 Susan Burger <[log in to unmask]>:
> Dear all:
>
> I have already posted on one of the myths that a lactopia exists in developing countries
> with hard core evidence to the contrary.
>
> In fact, there is evidence to show less exclusivity in the countries with the highest
> mortality rates and worst poverty.  The rates of exclusive breastfeeding are higher in
> Eastern and Southern Africa than in Sub-saharan Africa.  Within Sub-saharan Africa, the
> rates of exclusive breastfeeding are lowest in Western and Central Africa.  How low?
> Four out of five infants under six months of age are NOT exclusively breastfed.
> Moreover, the last time UNICEF had statistics on this, the drop off occurred in the 0-3
> month range.  At the same time, the mortality rates are just the opposite.  The infant
> mortality rates are lower in Eastern and Southern Africa than Sub-saharan Africa. Within
> Sub-saharan Africa, the rates of infant mortality rates are extremely high in Western and
> Central Africa.
>
> There are strong myths about some blissful pastoral prior existence we all had with a
> marvelously wonderful diet that was perfect for our optimal development -- the Eden that
> disappeared as we industrialized and overpopulated the planet.  Yet, I do not believe that
> we ever had more than a few pockets of Eden surrounded by struggle and challenge.
>
> Here's what was available when I first joined Peace Corps:
> Main protein sources:
> peanuts (often moldy -- the aflatoxin from these molds has been implicated in liver
> cancer and certain forms of malnutrition)
> dried and salted fish
> termites (only in the rainy season -- very yummy)
>
> Rare protein sources:
> fresh fish
> chicken & eggs (never an everyday item)
> forest game (when you could shoot it -- tiny antelopes, porcupine, monkey -- and rarely
> okapi - an endangered species) -- this was often sold smoked or dried and maggots were
> common
>
> Beans were VERY expensive and almost impossible to find (bugs ate big chunks out of the
> beans I managed to find, so these were put out in the sun to kill the bugs -- which then
> interested the chickens next door who ate the bugs -- I kept the beans)
>
> Main starches:
> cassava - the bitter kind that you had to soak for three days to remove most, but not all
> of the thiocyanate -- which interferes with iodine absorption -- goiter, cretinism and
> hypothyroidism were rampant in this area and THEN you had to turn it into something
> edible by pounding it, wrapping it in banana leaves and then fermenting it)
> plantain bananas
> sweet potatoes
>
> Rare starches:
> rice -- always came with bugs
> wheat flour -- always came with bugs -- had to sift it
>
> Greens:
> Cassava leaves, spinach, and some green that had the texture of tough grass -- you had
> to chop it into tiny little bits to be able to swallow it
>
> Fruits:
> Mangos, pineapple and a couple of other weird things I never identified.
>
> Fats:
> Palm nuts and palm oil
>
> Condiments:
> Hot peppers
>
> And that is the ENTIRE list.  The main deficiencies were iodine among the whole
> population, and protein-energy malnutrition among children 6-23 months of age.
>
> In developed areas of the world, we have the luxury of choice to either create a healthy
> or an unhealthy diet.  In less developed areas, availability of food limits those choices
> and it often takes a lot of hard work and creativity to combine the few foods you have
> available in a healthy way.  Environmental conditions such as a low iodine content of the
> soil can make it simply impossible.
>
> Best, Susan Burger
>
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-- 
The newborn who cries is saying: "I need something; something is not
right here. Please make it right."
-Dr Sears-

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