Or, subscribe via email
Supporting
The Resurgence of the Wet Nurse
A wet nurse is defined as “a woman who breast feeds a baby that is not her own”. It was a very common practice among the upper class, mostly aristocrats, during the 17th century. The use of wet nurses is a pretty ancient practice and is found in many cultures over the centuries. Here in the United States wet nurses were used throughout all social levels in the southern states during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
I had no idea that the practice of using a wet nurse was experiencing a resurgence until I watched a segment on the Today Show last week in which they discussed a rise in the use of wet nurses. Apparently with a growing number of women returning to work very soon after their babies are born coupled with the continued information showing the benefits of breast feeding has resulted in a rise in the use of a wet nurse. Some women are simply doing it as a favor to a friend, where a friend will step in a breast feed a friends baby in an emergency situation. In other cases though mothers are hiring a wet nurse to step in and take over the role of breast feeding their baby.
The cost of hiring a wet nurse to breast feed your baby can start as high as $1000 per week and goes up from there. Mothers are citing many factors that lead to their choice to hire a wet nurse including not having the time to do it themselves because of their work schedule, feeling the benefits of breast milk make this a better choice than opting to formula feed, and not being able to breast feed due to health issues or personal choice.
As with anything else there are those who support the use of wet nurses and those who do not. I’m not sure which side I would come out on. I think breast feeding is very important and every woman who can should at least try. However, I’m not quite sure about the use of wet nurses and doubt that I would ever consider doing it. There are so many other options including adjusting your schedule so that you can continue to breast feed even when you return to work, pump and give your baby breast milk from a bottle, and purchasing breast milk from a breast milk bank.
What are your thoughts? Would you ever consider hiring a wet nurse? I’m very interested to see what other’s think of this practice.
It’s interesting that we were talking to a friend about this the other day! He was born in Holland around 1945 and his mother developed breast cancer during her pregnancy (or it was diagnosed then) and she ended up having a mastectomy. She breastfed him anyway but her sister also helped as she had just recently had a baby. Formula would have been alot more difficult then to make daily and keep cool, then warmed to just the right temperature.
I think his mother probably could have produced enough milk on her own but probably was not supported in this thinking. (I say this as a nurse who has dealt alot with breastfeeding.)
I didn’t know there was a resurgence but I think it’s nice there is the option.
Anyone who has read John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath will remember that stirring scene where a nursing mother breastfed a starving older man so he could survive. We have gotten removed nowadays from some of the basic challenges of life and the creative responses to them.
This was an interesting article, Lisa and I hope other people respond!
I know I would never use a wet nurse. It may be a good alternative for some but it’s just not for me.
Thank you for sharing this with the Carnival of Family Life.
Very interesting. I didn’t realize this practice was still around. It is a good option for some, but I wouldn’t use one either.
Here via the Carnival of Family Life.
Blimey! Never heard of this before, well, not in the last two centuries.
http://www.motheratlarge.com
I think it’s a lovely idea. I have been blessed with ample ability to nurse my own children. I have also had to pump and have someone else feed them as I work. I’d love to know that someone who has been screened and tested, with love for my child was able to nurse them as he or she desired. At times my babies just refused the bottle and would rather that I nursed them. And nursing a sad or hurt child is 100 times better than a kiss alone. The continued closeness and warm milk makes everything better. Especialy when mother can’t be there.
I for one would recomend it to a mother who can’t nurse and wants her baby to be nursed.
I would much rather have my baby nurse on another mother than get formula.
I would be a wetnurse in a heartbeat. I’ve donated my milk to friends a lot over the past 2 years, and I’ve physically nursed my niece (with permission, of course).
It’s milk. No, it’s HUMAN milk, much better and safer tha modified cow milk.
Melissa,
You make some great points. Good for you on donate your milk to friends.
hello!
how does one begin the process of wetnursing after having stopped breastfeeding for an extended period?
Jr,
I would recommend talking to your doctor or a lactation consultant for tips on becoming a wetnurse.