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Milk: An Intimate History of Breastfeeding
When Joanna Wolfarth was pregnant with her first child, she assumed she would breastfeed, as her mother had fed her. Yet she was unprepared for the startling realities of new motherhood. Then, just four weeks after the birth, she found herself back in hospital with an underweight baby, bewildered by inconsistent advice and overcome with feelings of guilt and isolation.
Months later, her cultural historian’s impulse led her to look to the past for guidance. What she discovered, neglected in the archives, amazed and reassured her. By piecing together cultural debris – from fragments of ancient baby bottles to eighteenth-century breast pumps, from the Palaeolithic Woman of Willendorf figurine to the poignantly inventive work of Louise Bourgeois and from mythical accounts of the creation of the Milky Way to advice found in Victorian medical manuals – Joanna began to understand how feeding our babies can be culturally, economically and physiologically determined as well as deeply personal and emotive.
Using the arc of her own experience, Joanna takes us on an intimate journey of discovery beyond mother and baby, asking how the world views caregivers, their bodies, their labour and their communal bonds. By bringing together art, social histories, philosophy, folk wisdom and contemporary interviews with women from across the world, Milk reveals how infant feeding has been represented and repressed, celebrated and censured. In doing so, Joanna charts previously unexplored territory and offers comfort and solace to anyone who has fed or will feed a child.
Months later, her cultural historian’s impulse led her to look to the past for guidance. What she discovered, neglected in the archives, amazed and reassured her. By piecing together cultural debris – from fragments of ancient baby bottles to eighteenth-century breast pumps, from the Palaeolithic Woman of Willendorf figurine to the poignantly inventive work of Louise Bourgeois and from mythical accounts of the creation of the Milky Way to advice found in Victorian medical manuals – Joanna began to understand how feeding our babies can be culturally, economically and physiologically determined as well as deeply personal and emotive.
Using the arc of her own experience, Joanna takes us on an intimate journey of discovery beyond mother and baby, asking how the world views caregivers, their bodies, their labour and their communal bonds. By bringing together art, social histories, philosophy, folk wisdom and contemporary interviews with women from across the world, Milk reveals how infant feeding has been represented and repressed, celebrated and censured. In doing so, Joanna charts previously unexplored territory and offers comfort and solace to anyone who has fed or will feed a child.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published May 9, 2023
29 people are currently reading
736 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
January 12, 2025
Such a superb and important read! Joanna Wolfarth writes with so much compassion and sincerity. She talks about history, art, and her personal experience as a new mother and it’s so relatable. There’s so much support when it comes to bf in the UK but equally so much pressure and even judgment, and the ‘most natural thing in the world’ is actually not that easy. Wonderful book - I’ve not read anything like this before - and the epilogue actually made me a bit emotional.
January 24, 2023
This is a book aimed at anyone "who has fed or will feed a child" ... so I'll state for the record that isn't me. I'm in my late 60s and have no children so, in theory, this isn't a book for me and yet it was a fascinating, moving, thought provoking read.
The author writes movingly about her struggles to feed her newborn son. No, this isn't a story of an economically marginalised single mother, desperate to make ends meet, it's the brutally honest account of an affluent, educated woman, living with her partner, trying to breastfeed her new baby. And if you're thinking "what's the problem, it's simple isn't it, just shove your boob at the baby and Bob's your uncle" then you really should read this book!
The author looks at the history of milk and breastfeeding to help her as she struggles with the devastating realisation that "natural" doesn't equal "simple and straightforward" and just because you want (need?) to breastfeed your baby doesn't guarantee that your body will cooperate.
In her research into milk and breast feeding through history she highlights the complexity of our relationship with milk through the ages. Without ever getting preachey she certainly made me acutely aware of, and uncomfortable with, my own prejudices but somehow without me feeling ashamed, but rather informed, educated and just that bit more sympathetic/empathetic.
The author writes movingly about her struggles to feed her newborn son. No, this isn't a story of an economically marginalised single mother, desperate to make ends meet, it's the brutally honest account of an affluent, educated woman, living with her partner, trying to breastfeed her new baby. And if you're thinking "what's the problem, it's simple isn't it, just shove your boob at the baby and Bob's your uncle" then you really should read this book!
The author looks at the history of milk and breastfeeding to help her as she struggles with the devastating realisation that "natural" doesn't equal "simple and straightforward" and just because you want (need?) to breastfeed your baby doesn't guarantee that your body will cooperate.
In her research into milk and breast feeding through history she highlights the complexity of our relationship with milk through the ages. Without ever getting preachey she certainly made me acutely aware of, and uncomfortable with, my own prejudices but somehow without me feeling ashamed, but rather informed, educated and just that bit more sympathetic/empathetic.
February 10, 2023
Stand by for a long list of approving adjectives. This is a superb, compassionate, intelligent, readable, fascinating and necessary book by a cultural historian, full of descriptions of paintings and sculptures and ancient artefacts, interwoven with her own memoir of breastfeeding. She shows beautifully clearly why we all have baggage around women, childbearing and childrearing... and her own is laid out as neatly as emotional baggage ever can be and would only occupy a compact space. Her birth experience was not her first choice and she had some significant breastfeeding difficulties and she uses these effectively in the book.
It's something of a manual of what not to do - I was appalled at the level of physical manipulation of mother and baby by health care professionals. Where do they get taught that it is OK to do this? I think it also shows the confusion about roles - there's a bizarre scenario where she's in hospital after the birth and attends a postnatal breastfeeding class run by 'a breastfeeding counsellor' but who is later also referred to as a midwife, who says inappropriate things (hats off to Wolfarth who, unlike many who hear a particular statement, actually goes away and finds out the individual is misrepresenting policy). There's also a "lactation consultant" who thinks she's not competent to support a 4 week old admitted for poor weight gain because she works with newborns.
Wolfarth is unusual as a writer of parenting memoir because she's not spiky, she doesn't sneer, she grew up in a family where breastfeeding was how babies were fed and expected to breastfeed herself and she is not suggesting, anywhere, that breastfeeding is just a lifestyle choice and one which is unachievable for most women. She knows this is a wicked lie we have been sold, but she also shows both that breastfeeding is made unachievable for many women... and has been made so throughout history and across many cultures. But she also shows, in a few sentences where she compares learning to breathe and learning to walk (I forget where she got this but she acknowledges it) that learning to breastfeed can, quite naturally, be a stuttering process.
It's something of a manual of what not to do - I was appalled at the level of physical manipulation of mother and baby by health care professionals. Where do they get taught that it is OK to do this? I think it also shows the confusion about roles - there's a bizarre scenario where she's in hospital after the birth and attends a postnatal breastfeeding class run by 'a breastfeeding counsellor' but who is later also referred to as a midwife, who says inappropriate things (hats off to Wolfarth who, unlike many who hear a particular statement, actually goes away and finds out the individual is misrepresenting policy). There's also a "lactation consultant" who thinks she's not competent to support a 4 week old admitted for poor weight gain because she works with newborns.
Wolfarth is unusual as a writer of parenting memoir because she's not spiky, she doesn't sneer, she grew up in a family where breastfeeding was how babies were fed and expected to breastfeed herself and she is not suggesting, anywhere, that breastfeeding is just a lifestyle choice and one which is unachievable for most women. She knows this is a wicked lie we have been sold, but she also shows both that breastfeeding is made unachievable for many women... and has been made so throughout history and across many cultures. But she also shows, in a few sentences where she compares learning to breathe and learning to walk (I forget where she got this but she acknowledges it) that learning to breastfeed can, quite naturally, be a stuttering process.
April 28, 2025
confused and boring
December 13, 2025
loved this book. for any mother who is going through the ups and downs of breastfeeding.
July 25, 2024
3.5✨
As a woman, I naturally gravitate towards topics concerning female anatomy and our unique bodily functions. This book shares an insightful exploration of milk and breastfeeding through the ages, enriched by historical, religious, cultural, mythological, literature and social contexts alongside the author’s personal experiences. The information presented was indeed ample and at times fascinating enough that prompted me to do further research and share with friends.
🍼
You don’t need to be expecting or a mother or to read this book, if you’re interested enough in parenthood in general, or understanding what your body can do, or learning about breastfeeding mothers across centuries, this will capture your interest.
🍼
However, my only negative comment is that the author was forcibly trying to include part of the LGBTQ by talking about transgender men in a discussion ostensibly about female bodies and motherhood, this bit was absurd, forced and very unnecessary.
🍼
This book focuses on females, women, and mothers, highlighting the unique capabilities of our bodies that men simply do not possess—a phenomenon that is remarkable in itself. When discussing our womanhood and what our bodies can achieve, we do not need to incorporate trans perspectives, it is irrelevant and scientifically implausible. I wish the author had adhered to the facts in this part.
As a woman, I naturally gravitate towards topics concerning female anatomy and our unique bodily functions. This book shares an insightful exploration of milk and breastfeeding through the ages, enriched by historical, religious, cultural, mythological, literature and social contexts alongside the author’s personal experiences. The information presented was indeed ample and at times fascinating enough that prompted me to do further research and share with friends.
🍼
You don’t need to be expecting or a mother or to read this book, if you’re interested enough in parenthood in general, or understanding what your body can do, or learning about breastfeeding mothers across centuries, this will capture your interest.
🍼
However, my only negative comment is that the author was forcibly trying to include part of the LGBTQ by talking about transgender men in a discussion ostensibly about female bodies and motherhood, this bit was absurd, forced and very unnecessary.
🍼
This book focuses on females, women, and mothers, highlighting the unique capabilities of our bodies that men simply do not possess—a phenomenon that is remarkable in itself. When discussing our womanhood and what our bodies can achieve, we do not need to incorporate trans perspectives, it is irrelevant and scientifically implausible. I wish the author had adhered to the facts in this part.
May 3, 2025
Book Review: Milk: An Intimate History of Breastfeeding – A Feminist Reckoning with the Politics, Power, and Pain of Nurturance
Joanna Wolfarth’s Milk: An Intimate History of Breastfeeding is a profound and meticulously researched exploration of one of humanity’s most universal yet contested acts. Far from a simple biological function, breastfeeding emerges in Wolfarth’s work as a site of intense cultural, political, and personal struggle—shaped by patriarchy, capitalism, and medical intervention. Blending memoir, history, and feminist critique, Milk dismantles the romanticized ideal of breastfeeding as a “natural” bond, exposing instead the complex realities of pain, power, and societal expectation that define this intimate act.
Thesis and Method: Breastfeeding as a Contested Landscape
Wolfarth’s central argument is that breastfeeding is not merely a personal choice but a deeply politicized experience, shaped by historical forces, economic structures, and gendered expectations. She traces its evolution from ancient practices to modern-day controversies—hospital policies, formula marketing, workplace discrimination—revealing how women’s bodies have been regulated, commodified, and shamed. By weaving her own breastfeeding journey with historical analysis and interviews, Wolfarth positions lactation as a feminist issue, demanding recognition of its labor and systemic support for those who undertake it.
Narrative Power: The Body as a Battleground
The book’s strength lies in its unflinching honesty. Wolfarth does not shy away from the visceral realities of breastfeeding: cracked nipples, mastitis, the relentless toll of sleepless nights, and the emotional weight of being a sole food source. Yet she also captures its moments of transcendence—the quiet, primal connection that defies language. Her prose is both lyrical and incisive, balancing personal vulnerability with sharp critique. She dismantles the myth of the “good mother” who breastfeeds effortlessly, exposing how this ideal alienates those who cannot or choose not to nurse.
Thematic Interventions: Control, Capitalism, and Care
The Medicalization of Breastfeeding: Wolfarth critiques how hospitals and healthcare systems have pathologized lactation, from rigid feeding schedules to the undermining of midwifery knowledge.
The Formula Industry’s Exploitation: She exposes the predatory tactics of formula companies, particularly in the Global South, while acknowledging the lifesaving role of formula for many families.
Breastfeeding as Labor: The book reframes nursing as unpaid, undervalued work—one that intersects with class, race, and employment barriers, as low-income mothers often face the cruelest trade-offs between pumping and paychecks.
Strengths and Gaps
Wolfarth’s interdisciplinary approach—melding history, science, and memoir—makes Milk both intellectually rigorous and deeply relatable. However, the book could benefit from deeper engagement with queer and trans experiences of breastfeeding, as well as more explicit discussion of how race and disability shape access to lactation support. While Wolfarth nods to colonial legacies in breastfeeding discourse, a more sustained intersectional analysis would strengthen her critique.
Verdict: 4.5/5
Milk is a vital, eye-opening work that reframes breastfeeding as a feminist frontier—one where bodily autonomy, economic justice, and cultural myth collide. Wolfarth’s writing is a balm for anyone who has felt judged, isolated, or erased by the fraught politics of nurturing.
Key Contributions:
Demystifies breastfeeding as a “natural” act, revealing its historical and political dimensions.
Centers maternal agency, challenging the binary of “breast is best” versus “fed is best.”
Exposes the economic exploitation embedded in lactation, from unpaid care work to corporate profit.
Read This If: You’ve ever felt reduced to a milk machine, or if you believe caregiving should come with dignity, not dogma. Wolfarth’s book is the manifesto breastfeeding mothers—and their allies—have been waiting for.
Joanna Wolfarth’s Milk: An Intimate History of Breastfeeding is a profound and meticulously researched exploration of one of humanity’s most universal yet contested acts. Far from a simple biological function, breastfeeding emerges in Wolfarth’s work as a site of intense cultural, political, and personal struggle—shaped by patriarchy, capitalism, and medical intervention. Blending memoir, history, and feminist critique, Milk dismantles the romanticized ideal of breastfeeding as a “natural” bond, exposing instead the complex realities of pain, power, and societal expectation that define this intimate act.
Thesis and Method: Breastfeeding as a Contested Landscape
Wolfarth’s central argument is that breastfeeding is not merely a personal choice but a deeply politicized experience, shaped by historical forces, economic structures, and gendered expectations. She traces its evolution from ancient practices to modern-day controversies—hospital policies, formula marketing, workplace discrimination—revealing how women’s bodies have been regulated, commodified, and shamed. By weaving her own breastfeeding journey with historical analysis and interviews, Wolfarth positions lactation as a feminist issue, demanding recognition of its labor and systemic support for those who undertake it.
Narrative Power: The Body as a Battleground
The book’s strength lies in its unflinching honesty. Wolfarth does not shy away from the visceral realities of breastfeeding: cracked nipples, mastitis, the relentless toll of sleepless nights, and the emotional weight of being a sole food source. Yet she also captures its moments of transcendence—the quiet, primal connection that defies language. Her prose is both lyrical and incisive, balancing personal vulnerability with sharp critique. She dismantles the myth of the “good mother” who breastfeeds effortlessly, exposing how this ideal alienates those who cannot or choose not to nurse.
Thematic Interventions: Control, Capitalism, and Care
The Medicalization of Breastfeeding: Wolfarth critiques how hospitals and healthcare systems have pathologized lactation, from rigid feeding schedules to the undermining of midwifery knowledge.
The Formula Industry’s Exploitation: She exposes the predatory tactics of formula companies, particularly in the Global South, while acknowledging the lifesaving role of formula for many families.
Breastfeeding as Labor: The book reframes nursing as unpaid, undervalued work—one that intersects with class, race, and employment barriers, as low-income mothers often face the cruelest trade-offs between pumping and paychecks.
Strengths and Gaps
Wolfarth’s interdisciplinary approach—melding history, science, and memoir—makes Milk both intellectually rigorous and deeply relatable. However, the book could benefit from deeper engagement with queer and trans experiences of breastfeeding, as well as more explicit discussion of how race and disability shape access to lactation support. While Wolfarth nods to colonial legacies in breastfeeding discourse, a more sustained intersectional analysis would strengthen her critique.
Verdict: 4.5/5
Milk is a vital, eye-opening work that reframes breastfeeding as a feminist frontier—one where bodily autonomy, economic justice, and cultural myth collide. Wolfarth’s writing is a balm for anyone who has felt judged, isolated, or erased by the fraught politics of nurturing.
Key Contributions:
Demystifies breastfeeding as a “natural” act, revealing its historical and political dimensions.
Centers maternal agency, challenging the binary of “breast is best” versus “fed is best.”
Exposes the economic exploitation embedded in lactation, from unpaid care work to corporate profit.
Read This If: You’ve ever felt reduced to a milk machine, or if you believe caregiving should come with dignity, not dogma. Wolfarth’s book is the manifesto breastfeeding mothers—and their allies—have been waiting for.
June 24, 2024
Milk traces the history and cultural web of breastfeeding beautifully, referred through historical and modern cultural texts, visual art analysis (as a cultural / art historian), and the authors own experiences with breastfeeding.
Amazing scope melded really fluently, across sensuality and eroticism, medical and social trauma, religious, familial, cultural practices of breastfeeding, gendered expectations, capitalist baby-formula industry, medical misogyny/-noir, and more.
The book is surprisingly and wonderfully inclusive of different experiences of childrearing and different bodies nourishing children, despite the book relating primarily from her own experience as a cis-het mother, and the personal strong ties she expresses feeling between her lactating and childbearing body and feminine gender. Small critique is that the author often refers to ‘biological mothers milk’ when she could just as easily write ‘biological parents milk’, but again of course this reflects the authors prominent subjective position in the book having been a mother bearing milk for her child.
Amazing scope melded really fluently, across sensuality and eroticism, medical and social trauma, religious, familial, cultural practices of breastfeeding, gendered expectations, capitalist baby-formula industry, medical misogyny/-noir, and more.
The book is surprisingly and wonderfully inclusive of different experiences of childrearing and different bodies nourishing children, despite the book relating primarily from her own experience as a cis-het mother, and the personal strong ties she expresses feeling between her lactating and childbearing body and feminine gender. Small critique is that the author often refers to ‘biological mothers milk’ when she could just as easily write ‘biological parents milk’, but again of course this reflects the authors prominent subjective position in the book having been a mother bearing milk for her child.
March 8, 2023
Besides her own story, Wolfarth uncovers a wondrous wealth of material on the subject from art, culture, history and mythology- teasing out the meaning and resonaces of the stories and images. This was constantly suprising and frequently shocking, and felt very fresh due to the lid that is usually kept tightly and repressively over the subject. This multi-disciplinary survey is presented side by side with a liberated and lucid account of her own ricocheting emotions during this life-changing period of early motherhood. Everyone should read this.
December 28, 2023
This is milk and mothering through art history, cultural and social lenses, and is both sensitive and comprehensive; the author writes from the perspective of someone who struggled with breastfeeding, so she explores alternative methods of feeding babies throughout history. Some chapters and concepts were much stronger than others, and I think it would have benefitted from images of the artworks mentioned (especially those that recur throughout, or underpin whole chapters). But all in all, I enjoyed it 😌
March 28, 2024
This is an interesting history of breastfeeding as depicted in art and through ancient texts. It is something that goes in and out of social favour. It answers the question of how were babies breastfed before the technology we currently have? The answer is a lot weren’t, a lot died, and a lot were wet nursed. Breastfeeding is hard, it’s always been hard, and I think now we are starting to talk about how hard it is rather than accept the misnomer that it’s easy and there’s something wrong if you struggle. Struggling is the norm not the exception.
March 11, 2023
Such a wonderful and special little book combining the author's personal (and very relatable) breastfeeding story with a cultural history of feeding babies, an area which seems almost criminally under written about. As a medical history major, doctor, and new mum I absolutely devoured this book in days whilst feeding my 2 month old baby - it honestly felt like a little friend in those quiet and sometime difficult moments.
March 14, 2024
I found this book fascinating. Currently breastfeeding baby no 2 and as I read during feeds I felt connected to the innumerable women through history who have done this. So much remarkable insight and history from across the world. A well-researched book. In parts an uncomfortable read, in others seemingly overly anti-Christian sentiment, but mostly a profoundly enlightening text which I devoured as my baby fed.
March 15, 2024
Moving and interesting - would recommend!
I liked the research and the connections to the art history world. I loved the connections to the author's life and their experience in breastfeeding. The Epilogue felt like having a look at what your favourite characters are up to after the main story ends.
Thank you for sharing, Joanna.
Breastfeeding is beautiful and painful, just like life
I liked the research and the connections to the art history world. I loved the connections to the author's life and their experience in breastfeeding. The Epilogue felt like having a look at what your favourite characters are up to after the main story ends.
Thank you for sharing, Joanna.
Breastfeeding is beautiful and painful, just like life
December 16, 2024
Intimate exploration of breastfeeding and social norms around it. What a fascinating journey reading this book, while actually breastfeeding !
It makes me think of how different our society would be if we placed caregiving at the center of our society.
Also, I loved reading about artworks with breastfeeding people in it - I wish there were a list of all of them so I could l revisit all of them again after finishing the book!
It makes me think of how different our society would be if we placed caregiving at the center of our society.
Also, I loved reading about artworks with breastfeeding people in it - I wish there were a list of all of them so I could l revisit all of them again after finishing the book!
March 19, 2025
Sometimes you start reading a book thinking it will be about one thing and then it turns out to be something else entirely. However, this was exactly what I thought it would be - a cultural history of milk sprinkled with personal history of the author and their experience with milk and breastfeeding.
I wish I could explain the complexity of milk to people who had never struggled to feed their baby. Thank you Joanna, perhaps now I can.
I wish I could explain the complexity of milk to people who had never struggled to feed their baby. Thank you Joanna, perhaps now I can.
January 15, 2023
a powerful mix of memoir and history. Was pleasantly surprised that the history was readable and tantalising. A fascinating read.
May 27, 2023
Really liked the historical overview through art. Mostly focused on the West though. Still looking for more global story of breastfeeding in narrative non fiction.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2023
This was beautiful 🌻 can't wait to follow up with finding the pieces of art she talks about. Never thought I would enjoy a book like this! Thank you ❤️
August 20, 2023
Loved ..had me sobbing
February 8, 2024
An honest, intriguing account of what it is to breastfeed in a world so conflicted about women and their bodies.
February 11, 2024
Full of facts both reassuring and surprising - a fascinating topic for a new mum!
January 8, 2025
Really interesting look at the history of breastfeeding through an art history lense, with memoir woven through. Read mainly while breastfeeding and enjoyed!
May 15, 2025
Amazing book, would recommend it to every mother.
October 4, 2025
Beautiful, important and educational - recommended historical reading for all women and caregivers 🍼
March 27, 2025
beautifully written and deeply thoughtful exploration of milk as both sustenance and symbol.
through art, folklore, and personal stories, the book reveals how breastfeeding has shaped - and been shaped by - culture and history. this book helped me connect to my mammalian instincts and the stunning descriptions made me tear up several times.
you don’t need to be a mother to appreciate “Milk” - i’d recommend it to anyone and would definitely re-read.
through art, folklore, and personal stories, the book reveals how breastfeeding has shaped - and been shaped by - culture and history. this book helped me connect to my mammalian instincts and the stunning descriptions made me tear up several times.
you don’t need to be a mother to appreciate “Milk” - i’d recommend it to anyone and would definitely re-read.
June 9, 2025
Originally picking this up expecting to read a book about the history of the cultivation of milk and things like homogenisation and pasteurisation, instead I was greeted by a deep, intimate and well researched account of how breastfeeding has been viewed and used for and against women throughout history.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews