When a Wetnurse Is Not an Option (late 17th Century)

AZ_Dawn · Dec 13, 2011

Here's the situation: a baby is born in a rural area of England in the late 17th Century and for some reason his mother can't breastfeed him. However, she can't hire a wetnurse because she's either too poor or one isn't available at the time. Since the baby is one of my MCs, he has to survive. What are his mother's options? Yes, "rethink this idea, Dawn, or the kid's gonna die," is an acceptable answer.

Thanks!

thothguard51 · Dec 13, 2011

Goats milk...

Flicka · Dec 13, 2011

Babies were quite often given cow's milk back in the day and I have a feeling I've read that they would feed them pap too. I have no idea if medically either of this is a good idea, but I'm pretty sure I've read that they did.

AZ_Dawn · Dec 13, 2011

Thanks, guys, though I was thinking more along the lines of the feeding method than the food. I don't know if they used a bottle of some type, a spoon, a long tube, or what.

Flicka · Dec 13, 2011

Again pulling this out on a vague feeling but I'm pretty sure I've read descriptions of bottles. You could search some museum sites. The Foundling Museum might be an idea since they obviously had motherless infants in the Foundling Hospital (it's 18th c but still) and V&A has a lot online as do, I think the London Museum. Also maybe Colonial Williamsburg?

Flicka · Dec 13, 2011

OK, just pulled out Amanda Vickery's The Gentleman's Daughter (which deals with 18th century) and she discusses infant feeding on pp 107-110. She references at least one baby as being (quote from 18th c source) 'obliged to be brought up by the spoon as his mother has not Milk for him' and states in a footnote that '[a]lthough artificial feeding became the fashionable alternative to maternal breast-feeding, it was often a lethal practice.'

She uses a book called Breasts, Bottles and Babies by Fildes as a source on practices and attitudes both for the 17th and the 18th century. If I were you, I'd try to find that.

Deb Kinnard · Dec 13, 2011

Perhaps (if it works for your story) a neighbor woman who either has plenty of milk or who recently lost her own child? Or someone in milk who owes your new mother a favor.

I think they did use primitive substitutes but since your main character is poor, I doubt she'd be able to afford a glass bottle and rubber (did they have rubber in this era?) teats for the procedure. I've heard sometimes of the parent twisting a cloth into a suitable shape and dipping it in milk for the infant to suck on. Sounds tedious...

Cow's milk is less easily tolerated by the newborn than goat's milk.

Kitti · Dec 13, 2011

Malnourishment and/or mom's death would probably be the only good reasons to keep mom from breastfeeding - most poor moms breastfed their kids for as long as possible, up to two years, because it was cheaper than feeding them real food. And if she wasn't breastfeeding her own child b/c she was breastfeeding some richer person's child, she'd be making enough money to put her own child out to be breastfed by a poorer woman (breastfeeding kind of had a ripple-down effect.)

Where's the dad? If mom's unmarried and he's anywhere near, the parish will go after him to make him pay for the baby's maintenance. If mom & dad are both super-poor, the parish is probably already assisting them and will get stuck paying for the wet nurse. If a local wet nurse is not available, the baby will be sent away to a neighboring parish or town for nursing.

AZ_Dawn · Dec 13, 2011

Thanks, guys!

Flicka said:
OK, just pulled out Amanda Vickery's The Gentleman's Daughter (which deals with 18th century) and she discusses infant feeding on pp 107-110. She references at least one baby as being (quote from 18th c source) 'obliged to be brought up by the spoon as his mother has not Milk for him'

Ah, a spoon was a possibility.

She uses a book called Breasts, Bottles and Babies by Fildes as a source on practices and attitudes both for the 17th and the 18th century.

That could help. I wonder if the local library has a copy.

Deb Kinnard said:
Perhaps (if it works for your story) a neighbor woman who either has plenty of milk or who recently lost her own child? Or someone in milk who owes your new mother a favor.

Technically it's not for the story proper; it's more for the MC's backstory, and may or may not get mentioned. Anyway, after reading the reponses, I think finding a wetnurse (perhaps a relative might do it for free?) might be the best option.

I've heard sometimes of the parent twisting a cloth into a suitable shape and dipping it in milk for the infant to suck on. Sounds tedious...

I read something like that, though it wasn't a scholarly work, so I wasn't sure about it.

Kitti said:
Where's the dad? If mom's unmarried and he's anywhere near, the parish will go after him to make him pay for the baby's maintenance.

Yep, he's illegitimate, and his grandparents kindly tried to pass him off as their child. That'd be hard to pull off if his "big sister" was caught breastfeeding him.

As for his father, he's out of the picture. I never figured out why, though.

If mom & dad are both super-poor, the parish is probably already assisting them and will get stuck paying for the wet nurse. If a local wet nurse is not available, the baby will be sent away to a neighboring parish or town for nursing.

Good point, especially if farmhands with 5 children are considered super-poor. 17th Century welfare never occured to me.

Flicka · Dec 13, 2011

AZ_Dawn said:
Thanks, guys!

Ah, a spoon was a possibility.

Well, if it matters I know for sure that infants can be fed by spoon, but it's tedious and time-consuming. I was born with a medical condition that I don't know the English word for, but it meant I could only eat very little at a time or I vomited. So if I suckled, I just vomited and therefore my mother was told to spoon feed me as that was slower. So I'm living proof that babies can be raised by spoon!

Amanda Vickery's 18th century source is also quoted as pitying the baby, but then remarks that his uncle, who is no small man, was also 'raised by hand' so maybe it won't matter. I was just thinking that if it's backstory, maybe 'raised by hand' is as much description as you need to give?

frimble3 · Dec 13, 2011

AZ_Dawn said:
Thanks, guys!

Ah, a spoon was a possibility.

That could help. I wonder if the local library has a copy.

Technically it's not for the story proper; it's more for the MC's backstory, and may or may not get mentioned. Anyway, after reading the reponses, I think finding a wetnurse (perhaps a relative might do it for free?) might be the best option.

I read something like that, though it wasn't a scholarly work, so I wasn't sure about it.

Yep, he's illegitimate, and his grandparents kindly tried to pass him off as their child. That'd be hard to pull off if his "big sister" was caught breastfeeding him.

As for his father, he's out of the picture. I never figured out why, though.

Good point, especially if farmhands with 5 children are considered super-poor. 17th Century welfare never occured to me.

How old is the grandmother? If she's young enough that the baby might likely be hers, and she's had several children of her own, it's possible that if the baby were put to her breast, with time, her milk production would resume.
Also, if the reason the actual mother 'can't' breastfeed is that someone might see, don't forget that she'll have to take steps to prevent her own milk flow, or someone will wonder why she's leaking like that. And, I suspect that watching her child nurse will increase her milkflow, which is probably uncomfortable for her.

mccardey · Dec 13, 2011

Deb Kinnard said:
I've heard sometimes of the parent twisting a cloth into a suitable shape and dipping it in milk for the infant to suck on. .

Yes, a woman I knew did this for a baby who was abandoned in the desert by a nomadic group. Obviously, for her it was a short-term measure, until she could get care for the baby. She used sugar water, I think, milk not being available at the time. It was a newborn, and it lived; but they're quite resilient - I think you need a longer-term measure, don't you?.

AZ_Dawn · Dec 14, 2011

frimble3 said:
How old is the grandmother? If she's young enough that the baby might likely be hers, and she's had several children of her own, it's possible that if the baby were put to her breast, with time, her milk production would resume.

Really? I didn't think that was possible!

Also, if the reason the actual mother 'can't' breastfeed is that someone might see, don't forget that she'll have to take steps to prevent her own milk flow, or someone will wonder why she's leaking like that.

"Well, um, er...I was holding my baby brother when he puked on my chest. I had to wash my bodice and it's drying kind of weirdly." Seriously, though, as long as I know it's possible I should be fine.

mccardey said:
Yes, a woman I knew did this for a baby who was abandoned in the desert by a nomadic group. Obviously, for her it was a short-term measure, until she could get care for the baby. She used sugar water, I think, milk not being available at the time. It was a newborn, and it lived; but they're quite resilient - I think you need a longer-term measure, don't you?

I love that happy ending! :heart:

Yeah, the character survived to adulthood, so something long-term must've been done.

jennontheisland · Dec 14, 2011

AZ_Dawn said:
Really? I didn't think that was possible!

Yup, very possible. I've tried, out of curiosity etc., and restarted my own flow (kid is 8 now). Nipple and breast stimulation, even that not from a baby will do it. Also, there are herbs that help. I used fenugreek, which worked, but it makes you smell like maple syrup, and I hate maple, made me gag, but I was producing milk. There have also been instances of adoptive mothers spontaneously producing as well. Something worth looking into.

Also, if the mother is going to be there, and is able to produce, there's no reason why she can't just milk herself. A bit of massage to get the flow going and a cup under the boob and you've got milk. Keeping in mind of course that every woman's flow is different. Mine was like a tiny, randomly directed sprinkler head shooting off in all kinds of directions; a friends was a perfect stream she could shoot 10 ft across the room, and another friend misted like a spray bottle. All would be possible to catch in a cup of some sort though.

IsisAnalysis · Dec 14, 2011

Yes, once you've lactated, it's possible to start it up again if need be. It takes some work, though.

I believe before rubber nipples they would soak a rag in the milk and let the baby suck on that. But I can't imagine it was safe or very successful. Babies need a lot of milk on a pretty constant schedule.

And no other mammal's milk will have the right mix of nutrients for a human baby. For instance, cow's milk has way too much fat and way too little sugar.

ULTRAGOTHA · Dec 14, 2011

If you're MC is born in a village, I'd wonder why the village didn't know she was pregnant, full stop. Especially if they're and poor can't buy bulky concealing clothes). How does she hide her increasing girth? Does she go away for a while?

pdr · Dec 15, 2011

For your time frame...

AZ, look rather to the spoon, a horn spoon. Even poor families had horn and wooden spoons. Milk dripped from a spoon. Spoon fed is an expression with meaning!A horn spoon is more like a tube and could hold a decent amount of milk which could be kept warm in the spoon and dripped in drop by drop.

Rags back then were valuable and difficult to get! A poor family's rags were their clothes, one set each if lucky. Also they would not be made of cotton which was used later for suckling young animals and is easy to keep damp and let the fluid flow. I have read of twists of raw sheep's fleece used to draw milk into calves' mouths. Not sure if that would work with a baby. Too many hairs!

Traditionally you can use the twigs of the elder to make straws. Used right into the 20thC to feed lambs in Yorkshire. Not for babies I don't think because of taste and milk having to be sucked up through a tube which is hard for new babies to do.

A wet nurse often nursed her own child and another. A good wet nurse, well fed, could easily feed two babies.

AZ_Dawn · Dec 16, 2011

Thanks, guys! This more info than I expected.

jennontheisland said:
Yup, very possible. I've tried, out of curiosity etc., and restarted my own flow (kid is 8 now). Nipple and breast stimulation, even that not from a baby will do it. Also, there are herbs that help.

Yet again, I find out that the human body is freakier than I thought. Would they have know how to do that back then, though?

Also, if the mother is going to be there, and is able to produce, there's no reason why she can't just milk herself. A bit of massage to get the flow going and a cup under the boob and you've got milk.

Good point. It could go hand in hand with pdr's advice.

pdr said:
AZ, look rather to the spoon, a horn spoon. Even poor families had horn and wooden spoons. Milk dripped from a spoon. Spoon fed is an expression with meaning!A horn spoon is more like a tube and could hold a decent amount of milk which could be kept warm in the spoon and dripped in drop by drop.

Sound like a plan. I should look up horn spoons on the 'net.

ULTRAGOTHA said:
If you're MC is born in a village, I'd wonder why the village didn't know she was pregnant, full stop. Especially if they're and poor can't buy bulky concealing clothes). How does she hide her increasing girth? Does she go away for a while?

I didn't think too hard about that. I just assumed since it was possible, it didn't matter how, though being out of town could work. There were suspicions about his legitimacy (it's Hicksville, not Utter Moronton), but nothing they could prove in a court of law.

ULTRAGOTHA · Dec 17, 2011

AZ_Dawn said:
Thanks, guys! This more info than I expected.

Yet again, I find out that the human body is freakier than I thought. Would they have know how to do that back then, though?

Yes. Probably even more than we do today.

I didn't think too hard about that. I just assumed since it was possible, it didn't matter how, though being out of town could work. There were suspicions about his legitimacy (it's Hicksville, not Utter Moronton), but nothing they could prove in a court of law.

We'll I'm embarrassed I typed you're instead of your, which is a pet peeve of mine. Far more embarrassed than you!

Even if she lives in Hicksville, she's living in a neighbourhood of a town and such things would be difficult to conceal. She could go away to a grandparent or confine herself to the house for a while, but if she did that and then mom suddenly has a baby, that's a bit suspicious.

If she goes away, mom ought to go with her or mom's *not* being pregnant will be noticeable.

How important is it that your MC be raised as his mother's 'brother'? If not, she could leave him at a foundling home on her way back from wherever she goes to hide her pregnancy and they would raise him.

Lyra Jean · Dec 17, 2011

frimble3 said:
How old is the grandmother? If she's young enough that the baby might likely be hers, and she's had several children of her own, it's possible that if the baby were put to her breast, with time, her milk production would resume.
Also, if the reason the actual mother 'can't' breastfeed is that someone might see, don't forget that she'll have to take steps to prevent her own milk flow, or someone will wonder why she's leaking like that. And, I suspect that watching her child nurse will increase her milkflow, which is probably uncomfortable for her.

I'm breastfeeding my son. I work outside the home at Walmart. Every time I hear a baby cry my boobs begin to ache like you wouldn't believe. I haven't had to deal with leaking yet, thank goodness, but there is no place for me to pump at work so it's only a matter of time.

Flicka · Dec 18, 2011

ULTRAGOTHA said:
Even if she lives in Hicksville, she's living in a neighbourhood of a town and such things would be difficult to conceal. She could go away to a grandparent or confine herself to the house for a while, but if she did that and then mom suddenly has a baby, that's a bit suspicious.

This is one thing I always wondered about Tom Jones (Fielding's; not the singer, lol). First everyone assumes that Jenny Jones had him without anyone noticing and then it turns out that Miss Allgood had him without anyone noticing. I'm also thinking of several court cases I've come across from the 17th/18th century in which the mother was secretly pregnant and gave birth in secret (it was important as if the baby died and the mother had kept it a secret and made no preparations, it was assumed she'd killed it and was hanged). Quite often they were servants, so staying out of sight wouldn't have been an option. So, stays? Bulky clothes? Anyone know?

I'm tempted to throw out the question on twitter and see if any of my historian tweeters know.

Alessandra Kelley · Dec 18, 2011

Women's fashions had gargantuan skirts for most of the 16th through 19th century. Depending on the height of the fashionable waist and the woman's body type, a pregnancy could be concealed. In the 17th century when a high waist was fashionable, a pregnancy could be hidden under one's skirts.

Expectations of body image also matter. A lot of people snigger about the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait because they (erroneously) assume the bride is pregnant. In fact, at that time and place a huge round belly and thighs were considered beautiful, and exaggerated in most depictions of women. Even Eve, shown naked in Eden before the Fall, had a huge, pregnant-looking belly (and tiny, insignificant breasts -- ah, how tastes change...).

If what we would consider potbellies were the ideal of beauty, it would be easier to hide a pregnancy among them.

Alessandra Kelley · Dec 18, 2011

As for clothing, the Wikipedia page on fashion 1650 - 1700 is a pretty good overview. If you have more specific questions, I might have some practical experience. I've done historical clothing recreation and I have a pretty good reference library.

jennontheisland · Dec 18, 2011

If she has servants of her own, faking her period may be necessary.

Flicka · Dec 18, 2011

Alessandra Kelley said:
Women's fashions had gargantuan skirts for most of the 16th through 19th century. Depending on the height of the fashionable waist and the woman's body type, a pregnancy could be concealed. In the 17th century when a high waist was fashionable, a pregnancy could be hidden under one's skirts.

Expectations of body image also matter. A lot of people snigger about the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait because they (erroneously) assume the bride is pregnant. In fact, at that time and place a huge round belly and thighs were considered beautiful, and exaggerated in most depictions of women. Even Eve, shown naked in Eden before the Fall, had a huge, pregnant-looking belly (and tiny, insignificant breasts -- ah, how tastes change...).

If what we would consider potbellies were the ideal of beauty, it would be easier to hide a pregnancy among them.

I've heard about this happening all through the 18th century when the waist was very much accentuated. On the other hand, I suppose with sturdy stays you could look just 'thick' rather than pregnant but I can't help but thinking it would have been obvious to the discerning eye that a woman has swelled up. Still, it's well documented so it must have been possible. There are many, many examples in the Old Bailey archives where there seems to have been no suspicion of pregnancy and the woman even gave birth without anyone in the house suspecting a thing.

ETA: if anyone is interested, do a search on Old Bailey online on 'infant' and the years you're interested in. There are several cases listed for each year. Often the women have complained over feeling unwell or maybe having "a Colick" and then afterwards a dead, fully grown infant has been found.

Don't do this if you can't stomach reading about rather cruel infanticides, however. Such desperation and in some cases quite clearly mental illness. Very sad.

When a Wetnurse Is Not an Option (late 17th Century)

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