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Background: At the dawning of the Industrial age in the
18th century, female factory workersfor the first time were forced
to seek out wet-nurses or to abandon their babies since taking
time off of work or bringing your child to work were both not
an option. Therefore, the women who did not abandon thier children
went for the wet-nurses, and thus breast-feedin became a profession.
However, the majority of women looking to become wet-nurses strived
to work for individual bourgeoisie, artisan, and working-class
families. There were never enough wet-nurses to go around for
the abandoned children. At times, there were as many as five infants
suckling from the same breast, thus giving the wet-nurses the
derogatory name milk cow, and the term élévage
humain to the raising of the abandoned children. It meant
breeding, as in breeding cows.
Deterrent to Becoming a Wet Nurse for Abandoned Children:
One of the many reasons women did not want to have an abandoned
child as a nursling was due to the low wages. In 1821, they receive
eighty-four francs for the year, or seven francs per month for
the child's first year. However, if a women was able to secure
a job as a wet nurse for a bourgeoisie family, she would receive
a tremendous raise in salary.
Reasons for Becoming a Wet Nurse for Abandoned Children: Taking
an infant often provided the individual women and her family with
much needed money. Therefore, economic needs were the primary
reason for becoming a wet nurse for the majority in nineteenth
century France. But since most wished to become a wet nurse for
an individual bourgeois, artisan, and working-class families,
thus making the supply
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of wet nurses far out ceded the demand throughout the nineteenth
century. Why would anyone become a wet nurse for an abandoned
child. There are several reasons. One, those who often came
to Paris seeking for a bourgeois baby were unable to find
a nursling (184-185). Secondly, only those farms well-off
could afford to send a daughter away to Paris for one to
two years. It was preferable for the daughter to travel
to Paris, receive a child, and then come back to the farm
Problems with wet nurse: Sending children to wet
nurse who were unhealthy, had no milk, or cared for more
than one child was the result of an increase in the number
of abandoned babies while the number of wet nurse remained
the same (15). Wet nurses for abandoned children received
very low pay, that is one reason so many looked for individual
families (185). In the country, everyone in the household
who was able to work, was expected to work. Therefore, during
the day the wet-nurses, "...left the nurslings in the
house all day, either alone or in the care of an older child
who was often not more than six years old and thus too young
for labor in the fields (Fuchs 216).
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