Breastfeeding and cleanliness

[dot2dot]

The other day I was reading a thread about NIP and religion. It was mentioned that because breastfeeding was totally natural and created by God (this was a from a somewhat Christian perspective) that women in Jesus' time would nurse their children anywhere they got hungry. So this morning I had a thought that I hoped someone knowledgeable about Jewish law could help me out with. Weren't bodily fluids considered unclean? Would breastmilk have been considered unclean? If so, what place would a nursing mother really have in society? I guess I am just wondering if the image of Mary nursing anytime, anywhere is accurate. Thanks for any help!

[merpk]

Uh ... no.

There have been many threads about breastfeeding and Torah and the importance of it to Jewish families.

In re the "clean" vs. "unclean" issue, the only relevance bodily fluids have to that is (a) when a woman is menstruating she and her husband have to follow certain rules, and (b) when a man has had an emission he must follow certain rules.

Breastfeeding and breastmilk aren't in the equation.

Extended nursing is encouraged, and am assuming that 2K years ago responsive mothering was the norm. It is a safe assumption, don't you think?

[dot2dot]

Thanks for taking the time to answer me! That is what I thought... not even a very important question but just something that was going to nag me for days. Thanks again!
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