A Bishop on Breastfeeding for Spacing Births

“You mentioned that Macabbees is the only place in the Bible that mentions the length of three years for breastfeeding in Biblical Times.  Back in the mid 60s when the Pill was being discussed on the news, my mother (an immigrant from Italy who never went beyond the 3rd grade) commented to me: ‘A pity the mothers today don’t know what my mother taught me.  I breastfed all my children for two years.  And that’s why there’s at least three years between each of you.’  To which I replied, ‘Mom , we had teeth already by that time.’  To which she replied, ‘I know, but I could teach each one of you not to bite.’  
       My five years in the Peruvian Andes taught me basically the same thing.  Their children were spaced by three to four years, and they were ever so well behaved in Church as toddlers.  No crying or screaming.”

+Victor Galeone, Bishop of St. Augustine, Florida; personal correspondence, June 4, 2004, quoted with permission.

Next Week: A Cardinal on Breastfeeding and Birth Spacing

Sheila Kippley
Breastfeeding and Catholic Motherhood

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