Early Modern Breastfeeding Problem in Sweden: Failures to Securely Attach?

Breastfeeding is held in high regard as the foundation of lifelong somatic but also psychological well-being. It profoundly affects the formation of attachment between the infant and the primary caregiver. Much like the current official recommendations, in the past, full breastfeeding was typically encouraged. Yet, it is known to have been avoided out of vanity as well as necessity. In Sweden, the short breastfeeding periods during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries particularly in certain areas of present-day Finland (at the time part of Sweden) and the related massive infant mortality raised the concerns of contemporary officials. This chapter asks whether breastfeeding practices can be linked to attachment styles of the past or whether they should function as a basis for conversations about how children were perceived as members of the family and society at large.