ABSTRACT
High-quality artificial infant feeding (AIF) is a lifesaving technology for infants unable to breastfeed. However, its acceptance for conventional use is related to the devaluation of women's biological role. Historically, women passively accepted sanctioned changes in AIF. Advice about breastfeeding from the late 1800s through the 1960s illustrates a trend. Health professionals explained that AIF could enhance breast milk's value and could be just as pleasurable for the infant as breastfeeding. The United States (US) government, through the early Children's Bureau and the Public Health Service, also contributed to the decline of breastfeeding in the US The Public Health Service (PHS) also effectively advised against breastfeeding. The PHS was concerned with the high infant mortality rate, and its primary approach was to promote sanitation. In spite of the overall increased breastfeeding rates in industrialized countries since the 1960s, the breastfeeding experience is far different than in earlier times.
