INFANT FEEDING

Abstract

The subject of infant feeding seems somewhat hackneyed in these sophisticated days and perhaps for that reason more than any other needs occasional appraisal and reorientation. Toward this accomplishment the following discussion is offered. HISTORICAL SUMMARY Appreciation of the present status of the practice of infant feeding requires a view, even if fleeting, of the historical background of the subject. Prior to relatively recent times the successful practice of infant feeding consisted almost entirely in the use of human milk either from the mother or from a wetnurse. Animal milks, broths, pap, honey and wine were the principal food substances used in hand feeding and rarely led to the development of a healthy child if they were the exclusive sources of nutriment; i.e., unless also some human milk was given the infant. When was the scientific basis of the present structure established? Various students would probably give different dates, but