Symposium†

This is the seventh in a series of articles entitled Symposium on Infant Care and Feeding in Oceania.

: Infant care and feeding in Kaliai, west new britain, papua new guinea

Modernization often changes infant feeding practices, nursing being abandoned for bottle feeding. This study focusses on the relationship between parenting and nurture in a rural Papua New Guinea community. It examines whether introduced ideas have changed nursing practice, and how the idea that semen contaminates breast milk may affect infant feeding.

Observation of the interaction of fifty women and children suggests that, despite changed ideas about sexuality and procreation, little change has occurred in nursing behavior. Ideologies linking nurture and parenthood, and the symbolism of breast milk as the stuff of maternal kinship, override introduced concepts and all infants are normally nursed at least age two. Milk is considered to be potentially contaminated by semen during intercourse due to a supposed link between uterus and breast. Comparative studies suggest that this belief, which affects infant feeding practices, may be widespread.

Key words:

• Infant feeding
• male pollution
• Papua New Guinea
• parenthood
• nursing concepts
• cultural transition

Notes

This is the seventh in a series of articles entitled Symposium on Infant Care and Feeding in Oceania.