Thanks, Kathy Dettwyler, for giving us a reality check in the discussion on
interventions.  We need you to remind us how limited our perspective usually
is in time and space.  Most of the time when people talk about "the old days"
or how things were done traditionally, they are only thinking as far back and
afield as maybe 18th or 19th century Europe.   As we know, that is certainly
not a standard for what may be natural or common among humans.  Thanks for
reminding us of how various human practices can be and how far from anything
"normal" our own sometimes are.

One of my pet peeves is health care providers, written materials for patients,
etc., that state that the contraceptive effect of breastfeeding is a myth.  I
always have to correct them and say that, while it's certainly not a myth, it
doesn't always work as well with current breastfeeding practices.  As has been
pointed out, it was well-known in  Europe, which was one reason aristocratic
and royal mothers did not breastfeed.  They were breeding machines to produce
as many heirs as possible.  Although with the wet-nursing practices, many
ended up dying.  This was even pointed out by a tour guide at a chateau in
France a couple of years ago!

Your posts are always interesting and keep us grounded in the real world.
Miriam Levitt RN, IBCLC