Article Abstract:
Feeding butterfat and animal milk to infants in the first 6 months of life is a practice in several pastoral groups of Africa and elsewhere. In the situations where the alternative foods replace breastmilk, the risk of malnutrition and infection goes up in the infant, but in high-risk populations that use these foods as complements, a more complex relationship exists relative to infant growth and morbidity. Nutritional status of mothers and nutritional adequacy of the milk they produce are factors. Hypothetically, where selection pressure is high, complementing fat in human milk may be beneficial.
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Article Abstract:
Many factors have been studied in depth for their effects on breastfeeding structure in two rural groups in Mali. Among them are ethnic group, time of day of feeding, infant/maternal ages, and supplementary feedings. One group is an agro-fishing group, the other transhumant pastoral. Both practice on-demand feeding with lactation through the entire second year and often into the third. Maternal age was not a significant factor, but age of the child was inversely related to duration of a nursing session, with much variation by individual and variations related to nursing for affection.
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Article Abstract:
Bioanthropologists with interest in ecology of breastfeeding have neglected hydration as a research subject. The mechanisms by which lactating women in hot/dry climates deal with ongoing limited water is not known. They may reduce activity or carry water. Breastfeeding promotes thirst in the mother, bringing about a 12-16% upturn in fluid intake for Western women. Oxytocin, which is structurally like vasopressin, an antidiuretic hormone, may mediate thirst at the time of lactation.
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