I am pretty far behind in reading my Lactnet posts, and I know others have already addressed the request for information about the Talmud's discussion of nursing. But since I looked it up and wrote it out, I'll send it on. There are a few points others didn't touch on. There is a lengthy discussion among the rabbis regarding nursing that is recorded in the Talmud. You can find this commentary in English in "The Talmud: the Steinsaltz Edition." (Volume X, Tractate Ketubot, Part IV.) New York: Random House, 1994. pp. 276 -295. Differing opinions are given by the various rabbis on many points. These discussions, I think, took place around the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The guidelines that emerged contained the following ideas: Among a wife's obligations toward her husband was the duty to nurse the infant child born of the marriage. If a married woman vowed not to nurse her infant child, her husband might compel her to nurse until the child reached the age of 2. [Remember, there were no bottles of safe alternative feedings in those days]. If the husband and wife got divorced, the husband could not compel the wife to nurse the child. If she was willing, he had to pay her the wage of a wet nurse. If she was not willing to nurse, she had to hand the child over to the father and he had to arrange for a wet nurse. But if the child recognized the mother and would not nurse from anyone else, she would have to continue to nurse until the child's second birthday. During this time she would be paid as a wet nurse, so that the infant was not endangered. A nursing infant who recognized his mother could not be separated from her, even if he was blind. It was felt that a blind child could recognize his mother by her smell and the taste of her milk. The rabbis discussed at what age an infant recognizes his mother (anywhere from 30 days to 3 months, according to his own intelligence and personal growth and development.) Each child must be assessed on an individual basis and responded to appropriately according to his needs. A sturdy child could continue to nurse until he was four years old, and a sickly child until he was five. If a child was weaned before his second birthday, his mother could resume nursing him even if he hadn't nursed for an extended period of time. But if he weaned after the age of two, and had not nursed for 3 days, he may not nurse again later. This applied only if he was healthy when he stopped nursing. If he was ill, he could resume nursing again. [Nursing strikes were thus recognized as different from being truly done with nursing.] If a nursing mother was widowed, she could not remarry before the nursing child was two years old. If a nursing mother remarried before that time and became pregnant, her milk might be reduced and she might be forced to wean her child. The new husband might also resent the child, so this ruling was to protect a child in this situation. While a woman was nursing, her husband had to provide her with foods beneficial to her milk. A wet nurse that had been hired to nurse an infant could not nurse another infant along with him, even her own infant, for it might jeopardize the welfare of the infant she had been hired to nurse. The wet nurse had to eat well, and not eat things that were bad for her milk. Examples of such harmful foods were hops, young blades of grass, small fish, earth, a gourd or an unripe date. These were thought to reduce milk supply or cause the milk to be "turbid." If a woman said she wanted to nurse her child and her husband wanted her to use a wet nurse, the woman was to be allowed to nurse her baby herself. If the woman was not allowed to nurse she would suffer either physically or emotionally, and the husband had no right to cause her such suffering. There's also discussion of what happened if the husband wanted her to nurse but she didn't. Makes for fascinating reading. They seemed to know many wise things we are just trying to relearn today. I hope I have summarized these discussions correctly. Perhaps others more knowledgeable could also comment. Anne Altshuler, RN, MS, IBCLC and LLL leader in Madison, WI [log in to unmask]