Soc Sci Med. 1988 ; 27(5): 461-9.

The quality of a mother's milk and the health of her child: beliefs and practices of the women of Mithila.

Reissland N, Burghart R.

Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, England.

Among Maithil women there is an understanding of the relation between a mother's milk and the health of her child. Their understanding is supported by the Ayurvedic tradition. Characteristic is the way in which breast-feeding condenses so many meanings--nutritional, medical and moral--into one act. The mother not only nurses her child but also forms his character, fulfills her own personhood and perpetuates her husband's family.