Shifting Undergarments

[RebekahW]

Oh yeah, I remember reading about raising a child "by hand" meaning they were fed by hand instead of breastfed.  In Oliver Twist, his caretaker made it out to be a big deal, like "You better be grateful I went to that much trouble to feed you!"

[Joanna Jones]

Well, as helping women nurse is my "day job"  I can tell you that although most women can nurse if they choose to (no judgements - just a statement of biology!), there are exceptions.  Occasionally women wouldn't have had enough milk.  Or (close your ears, gentlemen) some women's nipples are actually inverted - there is nothing for the baby to grab onto.  Don't forget about women who were ill or even who died after childbirth.  If you loose a lot of blood, or even if your blood pressure is very high afterwards (gestational hypertension) you will not make milk for a while.  So while neighbors might help out, that assumes you have a neighbor woman who lives close enough, is nursing her own child, and can physically handle feeding 2 kids instead of one for at least 6 months.   Not to mention that since not much was known about nutrition then, folks didn't think it was a big deal to "supplement" the kid with something we know now they can't digest (cow's milk) or can even kill him (like honey).

Joanna

[Sarah Jane Meister]

I had forgotten about Oliver Twist being raised by hand. It's been a long time since I've read it, even though Dickens is the most totally awesome author of all time and has been my favorite for many years. I was wracking my brains for the earliest reference I had for bottle feeding babies and couldn't go farther back than WW1 in the novel Rilla of Ingleside where she bottle-feeds baby Jims.

I was wondering too about formula. A few weeks ago I had to put little David on a formula supplement because I'm not producing enough milk since for him anymore. Apparently (according to his doctor and mine), it's very difficult for a woman to produce enough milk to nurse a growing baby when her body is also making a new baby inside. That struck me as a problem women in period might have had, too, and wondered what they would use to supplement. Not that I'm going to use anything that would nutritionally harm him (I'll use the powdered stuff at events in a camoflauged bottle) but I wanted to know so I can tell people if they ask. That site you posted the link to is great, Malinda! It's really helped with a lot of my questions.

Sarah

[Joanna Jones]

Here is a little history for you - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_formula

I have to run to work now - I can try to find more later if you are interested.
Joanna

[Jennifer Payne]

Good morning,
I've spent some time researching this subject in a historical context and have run across a few books you might be interested in.  I've linked them through Worldcat Libraries.org so you can see if they are available in your local public library.

Wet Nursing: A History from Antiquity to the Present (Family, Sexuality and Social Relations in Past Times)
by Valerie Fildes
http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/17766287&referer=brief_results

Breasts, bottles, and babies : a history of infant feeding
by Valerie Fildes
http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/18412420&referer=brief_results

Motherhood in the Old South : pregnancy, childbirth, and infant rearing
by Sally Gregory McMillen
http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/19845828&referer=brief_results

Private matters : American attitudes toward childbearing and infant nurture in the urban North, 1800-1860
by Sylvia D Hoffert
http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/17649749&referer=brief_results

If you are interested in more books and articles,  I have thousands (literally) cataloged in Library Thing and on my website (see signature below for links).  Feel free to PM me and I'll give you more information.

Good luck!   Jennifer

[Sarah Jane Meister]

Thank you for the great list of book titles/authors. I'm sure our little private library here in town does not have any of them, but I could probably get them through inter-library loan with one of the bigger libraries in a surrounding town.

The article about the history of formula from Wikipedia was really intersting, but it horrified me at the same time! I didn't know formula had so many risks associated with it, now I wish Little David did not have to have the formula supplement. At least in a few more months he can be weaned and switched to whole milk.

Thanks for all the great info,

Sarah

[Joanna Jones]

Sarah - please don't panic about the formula!! It is a rare mother who doesn't need it at some point.
To avoid further hijacking the thread, I'll send you a PM

Joanna

[dulciewhite]

yes dont panic at what you read. Many babies are raised on formula with no problems.

My milk dried up when I was pg with the third, I got pg when #2 was 9 months old.

[allaussie]

the reason breast milk is so strongly recommended is the immunities that can be passed from mother to baby this way, but if you are using both formula and breast milk you can still pass on the benefits of immunities while also giving your baby enough to eat. But if you're concerned talk to your doctor, he/she wouldn't be recommending anything he/she thought would be harmful to your baby and modern formulas are designed to give babies all their nutritional needs, they just don't provide the extra immune protection that gives a baby's immune system a head start. As for what they did in period, the baby probably just had to deal with not enough milk or suplements with poor nutritional value and they possibly ended up smaller than they otherwise would have. On the other hand if the mother wasn't as well nourished as a modern wester woman breastfeeding the baby would be more likely to have stopped her ovulation.

[Sarah Jane Meister]

Thanks all again (both on the board and off-board!) I am thankful and happy to say that my baby has never once been sick in his seven-month life, and I attribute that to breastfeeding and the passed immunities. Yes, I am still breastfeeding but having to supplement with formula, and he's eating all sorts of solids too. My baby is growing up too fast. . .sigh. . .I got preg. with his brother when he was ten or eleven weeks old, there goes the popular myth that breastfeeding prevents pregnancy! Well, I think I have a "handle" on what to tell people now if they ask why I am bottle-feeding at an event. This has been very informative!

Sarah