Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!decwrl!labrea!aurora!eos!ames!ll-xn!husc6!bu-cs!bzs
From: bzs@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Barry Shein)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: male breastfeeding
Message-ID: <20186@bu-cs.BU.EDU>
Date: 26 Feb 88 02:52:17 GMT
References: <1686@brahma.cs.hw.ac.uk> <9626@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> <1636@aecom.YU.EDU> <2054@navajo.UUCP> <3203@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <2055@navajo.UUCP>
Followup-To: sci.bio
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Organization: Boston U. Comp. Sci.
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In-reply-to: baxter@navajo's message of 25 Feb 88 06:54:58 GMT



For what it's worth I just went through all the books I could find in
the University's general library on Breastfeeding, some of which
seemed quite thorough texts. I could find only one reference to male
breastfeeding and that was basically a sarcastic remark which went on
to describe an Icelandic saga in which a man, Thorga, breast fed his
child by making slits in his nipple and letting the child suckle the
blood (just fiction folks.)

Consequently, unless anyone can provide something resembling a
reference my scepticism meter is now on about 95/100. It's obviously
impossible to prove that it does not exist, but it did seem that at
least one of those texts would have had some mention. Several were
devoted to cross-cultural and historical views also.

The only thing I can conclude is either this topic is very poorly
covered in texts or we are dealing with something akin to an urban
legend. Your move.

	-Barry Shein, Boston University