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From: "Dia L. Michels" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Hasafran]: The Talmud and Human Lactation
Interesting abstract below about Breastfeeding and Orthodox Jewish Women
.
____________________________________________
Dia L. Michels
Platypus Media -- Books for Families, Teachers and Parenting Professionals
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Breastfeeding Medicine
The Talmud and Human Lactation: The Cultural
Basis for Increased Frequency and Duration of
Breastfeeding Among Orthodox Jewish Women
Mar 2006, Vol. 1, No. 1: 36-40
Arthur I. Eidelman, M.D.
Department of Pediatrics, Shaare Zedek Medical
Center, Hebrew University School of Medicine,
Jerusalem, Israel; Faculty of Health Sciences,
Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheva, Israel.
Background: The relationship of cultural factors
to the breastfeeding patterns has been
documented. Given previous reports of the
increased frequency and duration of breastfeeding
in Orthodox Jewish women, an analysis of the
religious and cultural basis of this phenomenon was performed.
Methodology: The published medical literature
relating to the religious and sociodemographic
variables in Jewish women was summarized. A
review of the Talmudic references to the
qualities of breast milk, patterns of
breastfeeding, and status of the breastfeeding mother were presented.
Results: The Talmudic references confirm a strong
endorsement of the superior qualities of breast
milk, the recommendation for a prolonged period
of breastfeeding (2 to 4 years) and the unique
economic and social rights of the breastfeeding mother.
Conclusion: Because the Talmudthe 2000-year-old
document that serves as the basis for the current
Jewish religious legal code (Halacha)explicitly
focuses on the positive values of both breast
milk and breastfeeding, it is understandable that
Orthodox Jewish women have a deep religious
cultural commitment to breastfeeding that is an
integral part of their religious lifestyle. This
positive religious dimension of breastfeeding is
independent of any of acknowledged medical benefits per se.
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/bfm.2006.1.36
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