Modern Maternities: Medical Advice about Breastfeeding in Colonial Calcutta, a research monograph, makes a very important contribution in the field of medical history. As the title suggests, the book is situated in colonial Calcutta and Ranjana Saha through detailed archival research meticulously unpacks breastfeeding practices and the influence of colonialism in shaping motherhood identities. Saha introduces the concept of ‘scientific’ clocked breastfeeding and highlights how the colonial and indigenous medical manuals emphasized on time and discipline in the breastfeeding practices and in the process subjected women’s bodies to constant surveillance and monitoring.
The other important idea that is discussed throughout the book is how maternal and infant welfare were being controlled and supervised by European and indigenous medical practitioners to justify their modernization and medicalization of motherhood and childcare practices.