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Background material by Professor Omar Hasan Kasule Sr. for Year 2 Semester 2 PPSD Session on Wednesday 25th April 2007
1.0 CONTROL OF LACTATION
Onset, continuation, and end of lactation are under endocrine & neural control, neuro-humoral. Lactation can be affected by the psychological state of the mother. Drugs can also affect lactation either enhancing or suppressing.
2.0 PERIOD OF BREAST-FEEDING
The Qur'an set the statutory period of breast-feeding as 2 full years[i]. No maximum period was set. However maternal milk is not sufficient as a sole nutrient after 6 months and has to be supplemented. Artificial feeding is not a substitute for natural feeding because breast feeding involves emotional and psychological aspects in addition to providing food.
3.0 PAYMENT FOR BREAST FEEDING
The father has to give financial compensation to a divorced wife who is breast-feeding his child[ii]. Any other woman can be paid to breast feed the baby if the mother cannot.
4.0 FOSTER BREAST FEEDING
Breast-feeding is not merely nutrition. Unlike blood transfusion or organ donation, it involves a more intimate biological and psychological interaction between the infant and the lactating woman.
Breast-feeding of a child not issued from the mother automatically creates a legal relation that in the regard of the Law is no different from that that of a son or a daughter[iii]. The relation encompasses the wet nurse, the children of the wet nurse, and the husband of the wet nurse.
The conditions set by the Law for this relation to hold are: the wet nurse must be a female at least 9 years of age, the baby suckled must be less than 2 years old, suckling must be from the breast and not milk expressed in a container, and at least 5 separate breast feeding sessions must be held.
The legal relationship thus established leads to marital restrictions between foster brothers and foster sisters.
On the basis of necessity, dharurat, the Law permits collecting milk from several lactating mothers in a milk bank and using it to feed premature babies or those who have no natural mothers. This does not create legal relations because the babies did not feed from the breast directly.
5.0 ACTIVITIES DURING BREAST FEEDING
A nursing mother may not fast and make up later. Intercourse with suckling woman is allowed. Work and maternity leave for lactating woman need revision. New ijtihad is needed on the minimum period of maternal leave since the Qur’an sets a limit of 2 years.
[i] (p511 2:233, 31:14, 46:15)
[ii] (p511 65:6)
[iii] (4:23)