Breastfeeding and child feeding at the center of nurturing practices, yet the work of nurture has escaped the scrutiny of medical and social scientists. Anthropology offers a powerful biocultural approach that examines how custom and culture interact to support nurturing practices. Our framework shows how the unique constitutions of mothers and infants regulate each other. The Dance of Nurture integrates ethnography, biology and the political economy of infant feeding into a holistic framework guided by the metaphor of dance. It includes a critique of efforts to improve infant feeding practices globally by UN agencies and advocacy groups concerned with solving global nutrition and health problems.

Penny Van Esterik is a Canadian anthropologist who has trained at University of Toronto and received her PhD from University of Illinois. She has taught nutritional and feminist anthropology at York University, Toronto and has a long history of advocacy work on breastfeeding and child health. Her geographical focus is Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand and Lao PDR.

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART I: CHALLENGES

Chapter 1. Recovering Nurture
Chapter 2. Studying Nurture

PART II: CONTEXTS

Chapter 3. Tracing the Human Story
Chapter 4. Entering the Commensal Circle

PART III: DIVERSITIES

Chapter 5. Customizing Nurture in Southeast Asia
Chapter 6. Modernizing Nurture: A Global Shift

PART IV: INTERVENTIONS

Chapter 7. Mastering Nurture: Lessons Unlearned
Chapter 8. Negotiating Nurture: Yesterday's Lesson, Tomorrow's Hope

References
Index