Did the feeding process in rural areas cause decreased growth among infants during the Taisho era (1912-1926)?

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  • 育児が発育不良をもたらしたのか : 大正期の農村乳児を対象とした検討
  • イクジ ガ ハツイク フリョウ オ モタラシタノカ タイショウキ ノ ノウソン ニュウジ オ タイショウ ト シタ ケントウ

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This paper addresses the relationship between the growth of infants and the feeding process in rural Japan during the Taisho era. First, I will establish that the growth rate of infants living in rural areas declined during this era from the rates that characterized the middle of the Meiji era (1890-1896) and the beginning of the Showa era (1927-1929). I will also establish that most infants living in rural areas during the Taisho era continued to be breast-fed until the end of their first year. In this context, I will argue that the declining growth rates of rural infants during the Taisho era can be attributed to the practice of breast feeding. In the next section, I will present evidence that breast feeding may have decreased in frequency when mothers engaged in heavy agricultural work after delivery. Finally, the aforementioned findings and arguments will be used to develop the hypothesis that decreased daily breast feeding, caused by engagement in heavy agricultural labor, led to diminished milk production among mothers for several months after delivery. Furthermore, many infants continued to be breast-fed, thus resulting in stunted growth during the latter half of infancy.

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