Please reply directly to me or at least cc a copy to me at [log in to unmask] I am usually set to nomail and will not necessarily see all answers posted to the list. I would like information about parenting customs in Egypt, preferably from someone in or from Egypt. I have been asked to testify in a child protection case, for a family I do not know and only met the parents this week. The family emigrated from Egypt last year, and have a preschool age child and a breastfeeding infant, or at least he was breastfeeding until protective services removed both children from the home two months ago. My role is not to weigh in on the question of abuse, but to help the infant regain access to his mother's breast, to cite the risks of formula feeding, etc., and I also in my affidavit added the neurodevelopmental and neurobehavioral risks simply of the separation itself, even if breastfeeding were not involved. The parents recently obtained private counsel, and after this long separation, with only brief once a week visits, are requesting both more appropriate visitation and a more speedy resolution of the case so that breastfeeding can resume. No one is alleging abuse against the infant, but it is considered normal caution in our state (and probably all others) if there is a young infant to remove the infant if the older child is at risk. Byeond what I have been asked to do, I am simply perplexed by the contradictions in this case. This is not a socially isolated family. The older child had been breastfed, as proscribed in the Koran, for two years. They have an estblished relationsip with a doctor in Egypt, but attended a university clinic for care since arriving here. Their atty is making contact with the Egyptian doctor, but I am seeking independent information, for my own understanding of the cultural situation. The situation is confusing to me, since I have this view that the bonding afforded by breastfeeding acts as an immunization against abuse, and also this view that it is difficult for breastfeeding to thrive, i.e. for a mother to continue breastfeeding, in an abusive environment. ( See my note below describing a reference by Acheson*). I wonder if that is perhaps more true in the US, where women have to "invent" breastfeeding for themselves, so have more trouble establishing breastfeeding in an environment of abuse. Could it be that it is less true where the larger culture is so supportive of breastfeeding that a woman can establish that connection despite domestic violence or child abuse by her spouse, for example? I wonder if anyone can tell me about typical childhood discipline culturally acceptable in Egypt-- is corporal punishment common? And if so, what kind? Are instruments used, or the hand? At what age? ( 2, 3, 4, years old?) for what kind of infractions? Who does the punishment? This family actually says that they do not use corporal punishment, and the trauma was child accidents playing, etc., but the photographs would appear to contradict this. It is very confusing. What about child abuse in Egypt? Does it coexist with breastfeeding? Does 2 years of breastfeeding seem to protect against abuse? Does Egyptian culture define the line between discipline and abuse differently than we do here? Is child abuse a well recognized problem, or are their cultural barriers to identifying abuse? The Egyptian doctor told the parents' atty that this child had "easy bruising" yet the lab tests here did not confirm a disorder. If there are any Egyptian physicians online, I would like to know if such a previous diagnosis (with reference to a "vitamin D deficiency") would suggest to you that the doctor was actually missing a case of abuse or is there something else going on here? Please advise. thank you, Tina Smillie, MD again, please reply directly to me or at least cc a copy to me at [log in to unmask] I am usually set to nomail and will not necessarily see all answers posted to the list * In one study in the US Northwest, where 95% of women, regardless of financial status, began breastfeeding at birth, and, at 6 weeks post-partum, 85% of them were still breastfeeding, it is informative to look at the 15% of women who were not breastfeeding. The mothers who were not breastfeeding at six weeks were 38 times more likely to have been reported to be in an abusive family situation than were mothers who were breastfeeding at six weeks. Indeed, of the 611 families where the mother was still breastfeeding at six weeks, only one family (0.2%) had any prior history of domestic violence reported, whereas, of the 113 women who never initiated breastfeeding or who had stopped breastfeeding by six weeks, there were seven families (6.2%) where domestic violence or child had been previously noted. (Acheson L, Arch Fam Med 4:650-52. 1995) *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html