En defensa de los niños. La batalla por la lactancia materna en la Inglaterra del siglo XVII

Abstract

In the 17th century England a discussion on breastfeeding began. All sources emphasized the sacredness of procreation, affirming that the duties of a mother were not limited only to give birth to the child, but to concentrate on its welfare, and on its physical and spiritual healthy growth. Consequently, among the imperatives that a good mother should respect were primarily breastfeeding, attention to cleanliness and hygiene of the baby, watchful concern for weaning and diseases. However, the habits were really different: rich families, without distinction of any kind or class, merchants, lawyers, doctors, aristocrats, always hired a wet nurse. Traditional habits demanded that the baby stayed at the wet nurse’s house, often several miles away from the child’s home. To allow the baby to pass through the first months of life in a healthier environment, well in advance of the expected date of delivery, the father hired a healthy and well fed woman. In fact, the physical conditions of the wet nurse and the environment in which she lived were often far from idyllic: the result was a very high infant mortality rate. Some began to oppose this system with valid reasons.