Breastfeeding : biocultural perspectives

Breastfeeding is a biocultural phenomenon: not only is it a biological process, but it is also a culturally determined behavior. As such, it has important implications for understanding the past, present, and future condition of our species. In general, scholars have emphasized either the biological or the cultural aspects of breastfeeding, but not both. As biological anthropologists the editors of this volume feel that an evolutionary approach combining both aspects is essential. One of the goals of their book is to incorporate data from diverse fields to present a more holistic view of breastfeeding, through the inclusion of research from a number of different disciplines, including biological and social/cultural anthropology, nutrition, and medicine. The resulting book, presenting the complexity of the issues surrounding very basic decisions about infant nutrition, will fill a void in the existing literature on breastfeeding.

• 1: Biocultural Perspectives on Breastfeeding
• 2: A Time to Wean: The Hominid Blueprint for the Natural Age of Weaning in Modern Human Populations
• 3: Breastfeeding in Prehistory
• 4: The Culture and Biology of Breastfeeding: An Historical Review of Western Europe
• 5: Sociocultural Aspects of the Lactation Process
• 6: The Politics of Breastfeeding: An Advocacy Perspective
• 7: Beauty and the Breast: The Cultural Context of Breastfeeding in the United States
• 8: Baby-Controlled Breastfeeding: Biocultural Implications
• 9: Breastfeeding: Adaptive Behavior for Child Health and Longevity
• 10: Breastfeeding and Infant-Parent Co-Sleeping as Adaptive Strategies: Are They Protective against SIDS?
• 11: Breastfeeding, Fertility, and Maternal Condition
• 12: Breast Cancer, Reproductive Biology, and Breastfeeding
• 13: Commentary Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives
• 14: Commentary Breastfeeding Is More Than Just Good Nutrition
• 15: Commentary Breastfeeding Study Design Problems-Health Policy, Epidemiologic and Pediatric Perspectives