Wednesday, 25 January 2012
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The Buzz About the Boob - Wet Nursing
So, there’s a buzz on Facebook right now about donating breastmilk and wet nursing – accompanied by not a little bit of controversy. The donation part is pretty self-explanatory, but what about wet nursing? A perfectly natural concept that has been in practice for hundreds of years is now being looked upon with varying degrees of discomfort from a good chunk of the population. Being a huge bookworm with a particular penchant for historical fiction, I was very clear on the concept of a wet nurse (who in my mind looks a lot like the St. Pauli girl); but, for those who aren’t so clear… a wet nurse is a lactating woman who is hired to nurse/feed another woman’s baby. For whatever reason, the hiring mother can’t (or doesn’t wish to, I suppose) breastfeed her baby but at least is forward thinking enough to want to provide her babe with the good stuff; so she’ll hire a wet nurse. There’s a great article on the evolution and current public opinion of this increasingly popular profession, here, which got me thinking.
Who would put themselves out for this? It stands to reason that the wet nurse will have a nursing babe of her own, and if you’ve ever breastfed an infant, you know how demanding that can be. What would make her decide to take on two nursing babies at once? Aside from a selfless desire to do something awesome for someone else’s baby, there is in fact a rather lovely reason to try to get this particular gig. Momma’s getting paid! These women can make some seriously sweet cash as a wet nurse – upwards of a grand a week (really).
I can see that kind of money drawing the wrong type of person (you don’t have to be clean to lactate!), but thankfully, the companies that recruit and hire quality wet nurses do go through a screening process; I’d hate to find out that the woman with my baby at her breast is struggling with an addiction, you know? Ugh…shudder! There was a time when it was common (and probably still is in some parts of the world) to see women within a community or family sharing the task of nursing their children without blinking an eye; maybe Jane has an abundance of milk but Mary is struggling. Of course Jane would help out Mary! It seems perfectly reasonable and I would do this in a heartbeat for a friend or family member, but I withdraw a little from the mental image of having to deal with explaining to someone why we are passing our babes from breast to breast; I guess I’m not immune to society’s notions after all.
Monetary considerations aside, I’m super tickled to see that this whole breast movement is on the rise – it seriously blows my mind that it even exists. It’s wonderful to see a mother do what is best for her child, and even more fabulous to see another mother share her milky goodness to benefit another’s child. Okay, so I am nursing a baby and I am currently looking for work… hmmm… this totally makes me want to be a wet nurse!! Sure the whole getting paid thing is great, but it totally appeals to the panty burning, flash-mob nurser in me, too!
Would you ever consider using a wet nurse, or being one?
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Comments (19)
Very well written and an interesting topic. I know I wouldn't be comfortable with my daughter nursing from someone else, but I am capable to nurse her, perhaps I'd feel differently if I was unable. But the thought of getting paid...now that brings a whole new image to "Liquid Gold" lol. Kudos to those ladies for helping to nourish the children of others.
I'm guessing that this concept (wet nursing) isn't new, but it is interesting that it is happening more frequently. Like the previous person commented, I feel the same way she does about having someone else feeding breast milk to my child if I am unable to. Considering the fact that there are agencies that screen lactating women, makes me feel a little better. I don't think I could do it for other women (strangers), I'd consider doing it for very close friends, as a personal favor, and not for a lot of money, maybe the price of groceries. However, I do think it is wonderful that there are women out there helping other women to make sure that babies are properly nourished
Currently i produce WAY too much milk. I wasn't pumping or anything and i was super engorged. So i learned about donating my milk to a milk bank and have been doing so for the last couple months. I have joked with my husband that if i lived in a different century, i would have been a wet nurse. I didn't know this still goes on. And a grand a week!?!? Wow! I wouldn't do it, but i have no problems pumping and donating my milk. It involved a pretty intense screening process and while i don't get paid, for every ounce i donate, $1 is donated to the Susan G. Komen foundation. Also, if i donate 300 ounces, they will give me $300 to pay for my pump. My big thing is that i'm happy to help. Nothing wrong with a wet nurse if both parties are willing. I would pump for another baby, but i don't think i could nurse someone else's child.
I would do it if my hubby was comfortable with it and had the time! A grand a week! we could really use that!
I think wet nursingwas so much more popular hundreds of years ago because there wasn't baby formula available, or not as widely available at the time, so if someone had trouble nursing their own child and couldn't get formula or anything similar, wet nursing was the only other option. There are many options now so wet nursing isn't as common and thus people look at it strangely. I probably wouldn't choose it for my child, but I don't think its a big deal in general. It's no different than getting milk from a milk bank, only the milk is coming straight from the source without being stored elsewhere first.
@Persiankitty@xanga - To add onto that, women who had the status to hire wet nurse (not simply one of those communal situations also mentioned) were probably royalty or nobility, which means a wet nurse could very well also become just a nurse and raise the child for a good portion of their childhood. And in the communal situations, children were probably also raised communally. I think that aspect makes it a lot less weird.
Hmm, I don't trust people well enough. But I think it's a great idea! Human milk is better than cow milk for human babies.
I wouldn't do this. Nursing/feeding is a bonding experience for mother and baby. I wouldn't want another woman to bond with my baby.
Wet nursing, as a profession, might have been around for hundreds of years. But women nursing each others babies has been around since the beginning of time, and still is commonplace in many parts of the world today. Supposedly that's the reason that women's periods "sync up" when they live together- to increase odds that they'll get pregnant around the same time and be able to nurse each others children if the need arises (we're talking evolutionarily there).
Wet nurses for the wealthy sort of is strange to me, because it implies a stranger feeding your baby. Maybe a big issue is that we don't usually raise kids communally in the US, so it seems strange to breastfeed another women's baby. But in a lot of cases around the world today, it's close family members and friends who do the nursing, to help the mom and baby, not for a fee- and to me that seems much for "natural". For example, where I grew up in West Africa, if a mother has twins but feels she's overwhelmed with feeding both, a sister, cousin, mother or other female family member who has recently nursed a child can step in and help feed one twin. Happens all the time...that we think it's weird or gross, well, kinda shows how far removed we are from the most "natural" feeding process that humans' have!
That being said, of course if it's a lady for hire, you'd have to have screening because some diseases, and HIV, can be transmitted through breastmilk.
I can't nurse because I'm a guy, and I don't think my wife will have any trouble nursing, so I can't imagine needing a wet nurse. On the other hand, this could be a way for her to make money. Who knows, we may need it.
oh my goodness! I wish I had known about this whole wet nursing thing sooner! I had the milk to spare! but it makes you wonder about night time feedings.. did the nurse stay in the home or did she pump before she left? I would've preferred to stay myself, only to make the notion easier, but this is definitely I am super interested in looking up now. The first time I found out I was pregnant, I found out that my best friend was pregnant also only two weeks behind me and then I had my car accident and lost my son and her lil man was in the hospital due to his intestines being outside of his belly during his birth. At the time I was going through a hard time and would've loved to help her, and even though my child didn't survive my breasts still produced milk by the gallons. Gallons that I could have sent her way because for whatever reason her milk never dropped... poor thing.
I agree though, the idea of getting paid is definitely an awesome perk but I would be more in it for the benefit of helping a momma out...I would definitely do it if the terms were right.
For a grand a week, I might consider it ;) But I would need a lot more details, like, what about those night-time feedings? Am I expected to spend the night with them? What about my family? If I'm feeding their kid round the clock AND my own, am I allowed to supplement as needed? Etc, Etc... that kind of stuff. It would def. have to have a nice price tag AND a lot of fine print laid out so that I could make the best decision for everyone.
I think it's kind of silly to bring back wet nursing though.... once upon a time we didn't have formula so wet nurse was more important/expected if someone didn't or couldn't feed their infant. Today there are all kinds of formulas and I even understand donated breast milk...but the desire for someone to nurse your child every few hours? That person would have to practically live with you AND go everywhere with you.... I just couldn't imagine letting a stranger do all that.
I'd do it. Too bad Isaiah weaned last November. *snap*
There are other issues to consider, such as life-changing events that might prevent a mother from nursing, even if for just short period. I lost my breastmilk WAY too early (well, too early for what I wanted - I wanted to self-wean) because I ended up sick in the hospital. I was quarantined with a highly contagious infection and wasn't allowed to see my son for over a week. Oh, what a horrible time for us. He is allergic to cow's milk and I would not EVER give him formula unless there was absolutely NO other option. If I'd had a wet nurse option, I would've taken it in an instant (with proper steps taken of course to make sure we got the "right" person). We ended up doing homemade goat's milk formula made from raw goat's milk instead, from 6 weeks old until he stopped needing it. I know that there are banks for situations like this, but I feel if you're looking for a long term solution, it isn't fair to use up the supply in a donation bank. There are other mothers out there who might need it more than me. A wet nurse would've allowed my son to continue his nursing full-time until I was able to breastfeed again.
I'd do it if I could.
i would have no problem pumping my milk for another baby, but nursing is different, like that is a special bond that only i and my daughter share, a comfort that her and i know, and i wouldn't want to take that away from any other mom
plus there this thing that i used when i wasn't able to breast feed my daughter (she couldn't latch because she was a preemie) that is like a tiny hose connected to a bottle of breastmilk that is placed ontop of you breast to simulate actually breastfeeding. i would suggest to anywoman who (unfortunately) can't lactate to use this method, that way you're still bonding with your baby, they're learning how to nurse, and it can help stimulate your milk production
i would never EVER consider feeding my child someone else's milk, that's just so disgusting to me. but i would sell my own milk if i produced an excess. i wouldn't actually ~nurse~ the child though. i'm not a mother though, so i don't know if it might change.
I would do it but I wouldn't hire somebody to do it for me. When you nurse a baby, you are also bonding with it. I am way to selfish to share my bonding experience with another woman.