>"I have a couple questions for you, have you ever  heard (or 
experienced) 
>that boys breastfeed more than girls when they are  infants?  or the 
reverse that 
>girls breastfeed more than boys?  Along  those lines, have you ever 
heard 
>that boys cry more, or that girls cry  more?"



*Failing to find any valid studies on crying that would support a physical distinction by gender, we did a little of our own research. While anecdotal, we believe that it represents the truth. We called some nurse friends whose life experience is working with infants. Without exception, they indicated to us, that the circumstances and frequency with which very young infants cry, is NOT dictated by gender. Little baby boys and little baby girls cry co-equally. There are clear personality differences between individual babies. Some cry more than others, not by gender, rather by individual uniqueness. We did not limit our search to those who worked only with newborns. We got the same responses from experts who work with children up to the age of five. From age five onwards, distinction by gender, and the resultant attitudes and beliefs begin to magnify. The logical extension of our informal study led to the inescapable conclusion that socialization, not gender, was the key to later
 differences of attitude and expression regarding crying.*                       http://www.sunriseatmidnight.com/resource/articles/gri_article_On_Crying_2.htm
 
*In the first weeks, the babies spent around 2 hours a day fussing and crying: this gradually reduced to around 1 hour in 24 by 3 months of age. The daily peak of crying time was between 6pm and midnight. Babies' gender, and birth order had little effect on the findings*
http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/ResearchAndDevelopment/ResearchAndDevelopmentAZ/MotherAndChildHealth/MotherAndChildHealthArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4016318&chk=TugjZD
 
*Reported excessive crying appeared to be more common in boys than in girls. Other studies reported no sex differences in the prevalence of excessive crying1 28 29 or mean amount of crying.2 4 30 31 However, most of these studies were based on small selective groups and data were sampled for purposes other than establishing sex differences in the amount of infant crying. One previous study found modestly increased crying in boys.32 *
http://adc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/79/4/312#T4
 
This link is about duration rather than frequency of bf
*Dear scholars, As-Salamu `alaykum. I heard that boys should be nursed (before weaning) for a longer period than girls. Is that true? Please clarify.*
http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=96983
 
Sheila Company UK
Health Visitor, IBCLC & NCT bf counsellor
 




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