Infant feeding and women's work in Western Samoa: a hypothesis, some evidence and suggestions for future research.
This paper argues that a key reason for the decline in the age of weaning in 3rd world countries may be an increasing workload for women associated with increasing involvement in the cash economy.  This hypothesis is considered in light of data collected in an anthropological field study of a rural village in Western Samoa.  Methods used were a village census, a household survey with fertility histories and questions on household economy, a questionnaire on breastfeeding, key informant interviews, observations made during residence in the village, and archival research.  The ethnographic data suggest the possibility of a causal relationship between a decline in the age of weaning and an increasing workload for women in Western Samoa.  In addition, other factors thought to account for a decline in the age of weaning, such as bottle feeding and urbanization, are unimportant in rural Western Samoa.
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D000367:Age Factors; D001695:Biology; D001903:Bottle Feeding; D001942:Breast Feeding; D003710:Demography; D003906:Developing Countries; D004467:Economics; D004651:Employment; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005195:Family Relations; D006262:Health; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D009035:Mothers; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D010139:Pacific Islands; D010290:Parents; D011114:Polynesia; D011153:Population; D011154:Population Characteristics; D012424:Rural Population; D018947:Samoa; D012923:Social Class; D012939:Social Planning; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014507:Urbanization; D014886:Weaning
Age Factors; Biology; Bottle Feeding; Breast Feeding; Demographic Factors; Developing Countries; Development Planning; Economic Development; Economic Factors; Employment Status--women; Family And Household; Family Characteristics; Family Relationships; Health; Infant Nutrition; Macroeconomic Factors; Micronesia-polynesia; Mothers; Nutrition; Oceania; Parents; Polynesia; Population; Population Characteristics; Rural Population; Samoa; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomic Status--women; Urbanization; Weaning