>When there was/is little medical follow-up do more boys not survive? Little boy humans die more often at every stage of life, from conception until old age. They're just physiologically weaker. They get sick more often, get sicker, are more malnourished on the same diet, etc. than female children. This has been studied extensively. It stands to reason that they would have more trouble with the complex coordination tasks of breastfeeding. In some cultures, male babies are breastfed longer than female babies, because the mothers recognize their fragility. Patty Stuart-Macadam has just finished coediting a book on this topic! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- 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 http://www.prairienet.org/laleche/dettwyler.html