The history of infant feeding in the 20th century is a story of the loss of a breastfeeding culture and the disintegration of traditional knowledge about how breastfeeding mothers and infants behave, the kind of strengths they possess, and the type of support they require." Since the 1970s, measures have been proposed to halt the drift away from breastfeeding through international programs and policy statements. With the aid of this strong public promotion, the rates of new mothers initiating breastfeeding in Canada have increased from 24% during the 1960s" to as high as 80% today." However, breastfeeding rates rapidly decline in the ini-tial weeks after birth with less than 35% of mothers exclusively breastfeeding at 4 months postpartum," and only 30% of mothers continuing any form of breastfeeding until 6 months." The breastfeeding dura-tion rates for socially disadvantaged women in the United States and Canada are even lower." Thus, most women cease breastfeeding before the recommended 6 to 12 months. The major reason cited for this premature discontinuation is difficulty with breastfeeding rather than maternal choice."