The third installment of "Words of Wisdom from Ages Gone by" -- ca. 1935,
that is:

"For the sake of giving her an opportunity to go out, mingle with her
friends or enjoy some music or a play, it is often a very good plan to
replace one breast feeding, some time in the course of each day, with a
bottle feeding.  The freedom which this long interval between two nursings
gives the mother for diversion and amusement, will usually affect her
general condition so favorably that the quality of her milk is better than
it otherwise would be, and the baby is benefited as a result.  This single
supplementary feeding cannot be regarded lightly, however, for it must be
prepared with the same cleanliness and accuracy as a completely artificial diet.

Weaning.  One advantage in giving the baby a supplementary bottle, once a
day, is that it paves the way for weaning, when the time comes to make this
change.  Under ordinary conditions, the mother begins to wean her baby about
the eighth or tenth month.  Having started by replacing one breast feeding,
daily, with a bottle feeding, she should gradually increase the number of
daily artificial feedings until all of the breast feedings are discontinued.
There are exceptions to this general rule, of course, and under any
conditions the weaning should always be directed by a doctor.

If the mother's milk is satisfactory and the baby is doing well, it is often
considered wiser not to discontinue the breast feeding entirely, during the
hot summer months, even though the weaning falls due at this time.

It was formerly deemed advisable to wean the baby for any one of several
reasons, but at present the only indications for this step which are
generally accepted by the medical profession, are: insanity, pulmonary
tuberculosis, acute infectious diseases or a general rundown condition in
the mother, and sometimes pregnancy."


Tomorrow: on pumping and dumping during menstruation!
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Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.                         email: [log in to unmask]
Anthropology Department                               phone: (409) 845-5256
Texas A&M University                                    fax: (409) 845-4070
College Station, TX  77843-4352