Diane Weissinger wrote:
> What do other mammals do with their young?  They don't "breastfeed."  Do
> they nurse?  Suckle?  Something else?  In the US I think we'd say they
> nurse.  What about other English-speaking countries?  "Here's a picture of
a
> dog _____ing its puppies."
>
I think we'd say, here, "feeding" or "suckling" in the case of an animal.
"Nursing" sort of implies having arms to do it.  I can remember when - just
as our mothers told us "animals sweat, ladies perspire" - animals suckled
their young and human mothers breastfed.  As late as 1968 in Townsville, a
daunting midwife who was clearly anti-breastfeeding, spat at me the
question: "Do you *suckle* your babies?"  Obviously she thought it
animalian.
    Cheers,
          Virginia
           in sunny Brisbane, Queensland

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