BREASTFFEDING DURING 20th CENTURY IN GREECE

Abstract

Nearly all Greek babies were breastfed by their mothers or by nursing mothers during the first two decades of the 20th century. In the next two decades the Ministry of Health published a booklet addressing to mothers and explaining how to feed their babies. On the hole the recommendations were on the side of the exclusive breastfeeding. During the second Word War women came to knowing the powder milk because Red Cross and UNRA contributed powder milk to adults in order to survive. In the following decades of 50 and 60 health professionals promoted mixt infant feeding in order to help women and babies. Women were told to weight their babies before and after breastfeeding and to give them some formula in order to compliment the feeding. In the decade of 70, women were told to wash their breasts before and after breastfeeding, to take care about their diets and to breastfeed every three hours except at nights. With such recommendations working women not having maternity leave and believing as health professionals did that human milk is similar to formula, abandoned breastfeeding and used formula. In the decade of 80 a campaign by the 1st University Pediatric Clinic tried to inform health professionals and women to come back to breastfeeding. For one year there was a significant turn to breastfeeding but in the following period till the end of the century there was a turn from exclusive breastfeeding to complementary breastfeeding.