Breastfeeding: Science and Society

Recognizing the nutritional and immunologic benefits of breastfeeding to infants and the health benefits of lactation to mothers, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and The Royal Society co-sponsored a Working Group that met in Vatican City 11-13 May 1995. The meeting brought together a multidisciplinary group of scientists engaged in social and biological research and in the clinical study of lactation. The purpose of the meeting was to create a forum for the presentation of accumulated research and to conduct a high-level scientific discussion of its implications. The Food and Nutrition Bulletin has provided the opportunity to publish the papers and the discussions, thereby making them available to a wider audience. We are profoundly grateful to the publishers for their cooperation, assistance, and patience in preparing the manuscripts.
We are grateful to the participants for their studies and their work in preparing their presentations. The papers and discussions address available scientific data in a competent and objective fashion. They do not represent the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church or the moral and pastoral application of that teaching. Nor do they represent the official positions of The Royal Society or the policies of the United Kingdom. The workshop’s aim was a comprehensive overview that met the highest scientific standards. We are confident it will be of great value to scholars, clinicians, and all others who work daily to enrich the lives of mothers and infants.

Msgr. Renato Dardozzi, Pontifical Academy of Sciences
Dr. Ann McLaren, The Royal Society