This article examines the discrepancy between the recommendations of international authorities concerning breastfeeding and the practices of a significant proportion of women all over the world who discontinue breastfeeding because of the reported insufficiency of their milk. Our review of the evidence on the insufficient milk syndrome suggests that the phenomenon is inextricably linked to the construction of family, gender and motherhood at different historical times and in different parts of the world, and that the prevention of early discontinuation of breastfeeding requires a better understanding of these issues in their historical and cultural context.