The recent discussion of mastitis got me wondering just how often people are
nursing. In 9.3 years of breastfeeding I never had mastitis, nor did I ever
know any women in Mali, West Africa who had mastitis (sample of 115 women
followed over two years of breastfeeding). Like the women in Mali, I nursed
my children several times an hour, instead of once every several hours, for
at least the first 8 months or so. This is more in keeping with the type of
primate humans are, and the composition of the milk.
Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Anthropology and Nutrition
Texas A&M University
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