“Le Bébé En Brousse”European Women, African Birth Spacing, and Colonial Intervention in Breast Feeding in the Belgian Congo

Abstract

This chapter examines colonial intervention in breastfeeding and milk distribution in the Belgian Congo. It shows that these colonial initiatives were linked to a discourse which viewed African birth spacing customs insidious and saw a solution in European women. The chapter explains that the colonial call for a crusade to combat the prejudices that separate the spouses led to the development of the most massive network of maternal and infant health programs in sub-Saharan Africa.

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