Introduction

It would seem that there ought not to be any mystery about mom's milk. From the moment of conception on, the system is so beautifully organized to guarantee the optimal growth and maturation of the infant.

It has been known for a long time the virtues and limitations of different types of infant feeding. In a study covering 20,061 babies

from birth to nine months during the years 1924-1929 inclusive, 48.5% were totally naturally nourished, 43.0% were partially breastfed and 8.5% received an artificial diet.¹ From Table 1, it is clear that the mortality and morbidity figures are strikingly different among the babies fed by natural versus artificial means.