Patricia Gima asked:
In Australia or elsewhere, where nursing hasn't meant feeding a baby at the breast, what was the
term used before bottles necessitated a distinction? Old-time language?

Well, in my native country, England, we would ask a pregnant mother, "Are you planning to feed the
baby yourself?" Interesting phraseology, isn't it ;)?

An English friend of mine who has lived in the USA for a number of years, was startled during a
visit *home* when her English MIL offered to nurse the new baby! She had forgotten that in England,
as elsewhere, grandmas love to sit in a rocking chair and nurse their grandchildren - that is,
rock, cuddle and sing to them.

And in Germany, they use the word *stillen*, meaning to quiet, or hush the baby....

Norma Ritter IBCLC, LLLL
<[log in to unmask]>
"If not now, when? If not us, who?" R. Hillel