Infant Care and Feeding in the South Pacific

Book excerpt: First Published in 1985. This is Volume 3 of a series on Food and Nutrition in History and Anthropology. In the aftermath of the controversial marketing of infant formula in the Third World, this volume describes infant care and feeding practices within their social, cultural and physical context among fourteen different Melanesian and Polynesian societies. The contributors address such issues as health and nutritional status, women's roles and social support, early socialization, symbolism and meaning of foods and feeding and intracultural variability. The material is valuable to health professionals, nutritionists and social scientists in understanding infant care and feeding practices in underdeveloped regions.