I wanted to post something to the list in response to this comment:

>Nina regarding the baby shower experience. I recently gave a workshop to
Wic.  In attendence was a person who recently returned from the peace corps.
she had worked on a small island in the Philipines with midwives. She
reported that eveyone breasfeeds their children and for extended periods and
that they have a difficult time getting the mothers to feed solids to the
children. At two years most are excusively breastfed. She felt that here the
problem was just the opposite of what is was in the Philipines!.>

It probably is not truly accurate to say that "At two years most are
exclusively breastfed."  This is commonly reported by people who have not
spent a lot of time living with the community in question and/or who don't
understand the local language and way of classifying foods in that language.
The following is something I wrote in response to a different question about
which cultures in the world exclusively breastfeed for several years:

 The origin of the idea that some cultures exclusively breastfeed for 2-3
years is that in some cultures children are said "Not to eat any food" when
what is really meant is either that they don't eat the staple food yet
(often rice or millet or corn, something that forms the vast majority of the
adult diet) or that they don't eat lots of food on a regular basis yet.  For
example, in Mali, West Africa, where I do much of my research, rice and
millet form the staples of the diet and millet especially is considered the
quintessential adult food, and too heavy for children to eat/digest.  If you
ask the mother of a two year if the child "eats solid food" she might very
well say no, meaning "He doesn't eat millet."  You can even say "What did
your son eat today?"  And she'll say "Nothing."  But then when you ask "Did
you buy him anything in the market this morning?"  She'll respond "Well,
yes, I bought him some fried fish and some bean balls".  [Both of these are
considered junk-food snacks].  And then if I ask "Has he had any fruit
today?"  She'll say "Yes, he had a mango this morning and two bananas after
his nap."  And then if I ask "And what is he eating right now?"  She might
say "Oh, he's just chewing on some peanuts."  None of these foods are
considered "real" because they aren't part of the big shared family meal,
and don't contain the staple of millet or rice.  So if all you ask is "Is
your child eating solid food?" the mothers will say no, and the wrong
interpretation will be given that the child is exclusively breastfeeding.
In every culture that I am aware of, where infant feeding has been studied,
children begin to eat solids before their first birthdays.

Also, you must remember that where the solid foods may be highly
contaminated with bacteria and/or parasites, parents must do a delicate
balancing act of deciding whether or not to start solids.  If the
introduction of solids means also the introduction of bacteria that give the
baby diarrhea, or parasites that lead to intestinal bleeding and stomach
pains, then parents may be well-advised to continue exclusive breastfeeding
past the 4-6 months recommended by the World Health Organization.  The
children may sacrifice something in growth, but the reduction in growth due
to bacterial infections and parasites may have been even greater.  Remember
that the World Health Organization recommendations call for supplementation
with "nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods."  When these are
not available to parents, it may be better to continue to rely on breast
milk for a few more months.

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Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.                         email: [log in to unmask]
Anthropology Department                               phone: (409) 845-5256
Texas A&M University                                    fax: (409) 845-4070
College Station, TX  77843-4352