LLLI Center for Breastfeeding Information

Journal Abstract of the Month for November 2006

“Islam and Infant Feeding”

Authors: Shaikh, Ulfat and Omar Ahmed

Breastfeeding Medicine 1(3) 2006:164-167.

Abstract:

While breastfeeding is part of the physical functioning of the human mammal we, unlike any other species, have choices about whether and how to fulfill that function. As members of communities that vary the world over, human females have to contend with not only the mechanics of making breastfeeding work but also the cultural influences that affect them at a deeply personal level on a day-to-day basis. One such cultural influence is religion. In some interpretations, religion is merely a set of beliefs but for others, it is a profoundly important way of life, a set of values that informs most daily decisions, including whether and how to breastfeed.

The authors of this article have addressed the Islamic vision of breastfeeding. They quote the Qur’an (Koran), their primary holy text; and the Hadith, a collection of the sayings of their Prophet Mohammed, which addresses how a Muslim is to live a holy life. They are careful to make distinctions between religious beliefs deriving from these sources and cultural practices indigenous to areas of the world that are primarily Muslim. Knowing which are commandments and which are traditions can help those working with breastfeeding Muslim mothers understand and support them in a knowledgeable and sensitive manner.

Islamic teaching independently supports (and predates!) the WHO recommendation that a child be breastfeed for the first two years of life. It also stresses the importance of the father’s support and encouragement in this practice while leaving the decision about when to wean to the parents to make jointly. Islamic teaching also allows parents to choose to employ a wet nurse, although the Prophet stresses that any child so fed becomes a sibling to the wet nurse’s own children and any others whom she has nursed, which may disallow the use of donor milk from a milk bank where the donors cannot be identified.

Additional topics covered in this article include breastfeeding during Ramadan, the month-long fast observant Muslims undertake each year; weaning; the introduction of solid foods; and concerns about vitamin D levels in the babies of mothers who practice hijab, the covering some Muslim women employ to protect their modesty. Breastfeeding in public and breastfeeding initiation are two areas where Islamic teachings on female modesty may conflict with modern practices and thus require some creativity on the part of those supporting the Muslim mother-baby dyad in order to respect both religious practice and physiological requirements.

This paper is categorized by the following keywords:

Religion
Wet Nurses
Fathers
Weaning
Vitamin D

The full text of this article is available at:
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/bfm.2006.1.164

Additional information on religious and cultural issues and their impact on breastfeeding can be found on the LLLI website at:

http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVAugSep97p79.html
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBMayJun00p82a.html
http://www.llli.org/Release/rickets.html
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBMarApr00p57.html
http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVJunJul05p60.html
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBSepOct02p170.html

Past Journal Abstracts of the Month