[Breastfeeding: pledging allegiance to ourselves]

Since prehistoric times, how babies should be fed has been a constant for our species, which is one of the more than 4,600 varieties of milk-producing creatures collectively known as mammals. Each mammal produces its own unique milk, and thus feeding a baby something other than breast milk will always be a deviation from the biological norm for our species. Indeed, breast milk is the only truly universal food uniting all 6 billion of us, irrespective of geography and culture. While in extreme cases it may be necessary to feed a baby a breast-milk substitute, this is not without considerable risk. In any case, it should remain the exception. Paediatricians and other professionals responsible for health services are particularly well placed to provide the leadership to sustain or, if necessary, to re-establish, a 'breastfeeding culture'. The WHO/UNICEF Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative offers a useful framework for doing just this. In only eight short years, more than 16,000 hospitals in 171 countries have begun implementing the Initiative. It is hoped that hospitals in France will soon join this worldwide alliance.