Avicenna; the care of the newborn infant and breastfeeding

Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine (AD 980 to 1037), CA, USA A brief historical review of medicine during the fourth century Islamic civilization or eleventh century AD in Persia or Iran was undertaken with its focus on Avicenna. A physician–philosopher, named Ibn Sina or Avicenna (980 to 1037), followed and further expanded the tradition of western philosophy and medicine by Aristotle, Hippocrates and Galen. Avicenna, a physician, philosopher, astrologist, anatomist, pharmacologist, ethicist and poet wrote, the Canon of Medicine, the most comprehensive medical textbook of its time. This important textbook was extensively used in European medical schools for centuries after Avicenna’s death. In the Canon of Medicine, a chapter is dedicated to the care of the newborn infant dealing with hygiene, breastfeeding and upbringing of the child.