breastfeeding

Word family

• breastfeed
  verbB1
• breastfed
  adjectiveB1
• breast milk
  nounB1
• bottle-feed
  verbB1
• bottle-feeding
  nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While breastfeeding is the standard, neutral term for feeding a baby from the breast, nursing is more informal and is used primarily in American English (e.g., 'nursing cover,' 'nursing room'). Lactation, by contrast, is a medical/biological term that refers specifically to the body's production of milk — not the act of feeding. For example, a lactation consultant helps with breastfeeding technique, but a woman who is breastfeeding may or may not be lactating. The hyphenated form breast-feeding was once common but has largely been replaced by the single-word spelling breastfeeding in modern usage, especially in health and parenting contexts.

Common collocations

Etymology

A compound word formed in English from breast (from Old English brēost, the front part of the chest) and feeding (from Old English fēdan, to give food to). The term became common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a medical and public-health way to distinguish feeding at the breast from the then-new practice of bottle-feeding using infant formula.