History of infant feeding practices.

Human milk was the one successful infant food until the advent of scientific pediatrics, the invention of electric refrigeration, and the development of formulas containing the major nutrients in concentrations similar to human milk. Infants apparently thrive on artificial formulas but the current formulas represent only a stage in the journey to optimal nutrition for infants. Better analyses of the composition of human milk are likely to lead to an improved understanding of the infant's nutritional requirements and thus to better feeding practices.