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Public Breastfeeding and
Wet Nurses

In Gurnee, Illinois
Serving the Chicago metro area

By Ira L. Shapira DDS, DABDSM, DAPM, FICCMO

It is presently well-established that breastfeeding of infants is ideal for their health and immunological well-being. Mother's milk had been the standard throughout history until shortly after World War II when American women switched to using commercial formula. Formula was made from cow's milk and cow's milk was considered the ideal food. Unfortunately, it was ideal for baby cows but not baby humans and its use contributed to many of the allergic and health problems seen in baby boomers and their children. Excellent references to these problems can be found at brianpalmerdds.com and lalecheleague.org.

A second problem with babies being bottle fed is that an infant has to use its tongue, lips and cheeks differently than if it were sucking from the mother's nipple. The motions ultimately lead to narrower hard palates and noses, deviate swallows and other problems. When an infant nurses at its mother's breast it uses its tongue (the strongest muscle by size) to press and flatten the erect nipple against the hard palate. This forceful action causes the roof of the mouth to widen and drop and the floor of the nose to expand giving a larger airway. At the same time, the baby learns to swallow correctly. The swallow is the first step of a reflex that travels throughout the gastrointestinal tract.

Fast forward to today. In the aftermath of the post World War I enthusiasm for using formula, breast feeding is still in the defensive mode. An August 7th article in the Chicago Tribune states, "Despite health benefits and 34 states' laws (stating that it is not improper or illegal to do so in public) breastfeeding makes some queasy." Even a public figure such as Barbara Walters stated on "The View" that she felt uncomfortable having a mother nurse a baby next to her on a plane. The August issue of Babytalk created a controversy by showing a mother with her baby nursing on its cover.

Apparently the American public is happy with pictures showing women's breasts on the covers of magazines if they are meant to be sexy but not if they are used as nature intended. You can go to any women's magazine and see countless breasts as well in Victoria Secret ads or on every public beach and exposure of the breast is ok as long as the nipple is not visible, whether it is covered by a hand a small triangle of cloth or the angle is discreet. But if you show a baby nursing it is controversial, and we all know the incredible row that was started after a "wardrobe malfunction" exposed a nipple on Janet Jackson during the a recent Superbowl that came into millions of homes on a Sunday afternoon.

The Babytalk magazine received over 4,000 complaints over its cover with one woman, according to the Tribune story, shredding it because her 13 year old may see it and "a breast is a breast - it's a sexual thing". Apparently the editors of the Tribune who chose to publish that article did not consider the breast from the point of view of a baby. From that point of view, the breast is a source of nourishment and comfort.

It is time for the American public to recognize nursing as so healthy and normal that it is totally accepted. Many insurance companies now pay for lactation consultants and many employers have set up areas for breastfeeding. New laws protect the rights of women to nurse in public and eventually it will be considered the norm. Knowing the health benefits of breast milk, is it not time to bring back wet nurses and should insurance companies cover these expense? According to Wikipedia, a wet nurse is a woman who breast feeds a baby that is not her own. Prior to the advent of formula, wet nurses were common and members of economically advantaged classes would have their children wet nursed as would mothers who could not breastfeed. When a mother died in childbirth, it was common for a nursing relative to take on the additional infant to nurse.

The practice of wet nursing is certainly not something new or original. The code of Hammurabi was the law of the Babylonian Empire over 4,000 years ago and it had rules for wet nursing. The Book of Exodus talks of Pharaoh's daughter hiring a wet nurse. It was discussed by Homer and in the Koran where it was permitted. Medical books discussed the qualities of a good wet nurse, and fashionable women in the 18 and 19th centuries routinely used wet nurses. Wet nursing all but disappeared with the advent of formula and worry about disease in the middle of last century. Today we know about the importance of mother's milk and the actual act of breastfeeding. We also have the ability to test for communicable diseases and drug use. There are even breast milk banks where women can obtain human breast milk if they are unable to nurse. As a Wet Nurse a young stay-at-home mother would be able to supplement the family income.

Recent stories describe professional wet nurses in China (Chinadaily.com 2006-06-30) and in Hollywood (Columbia news service March 15, 2004). I have found postings on the web for "Nanny/Wet Nurse available" posted as recently as last week( 08-04-2006) There are even blogs about wet nursing. The federal government spends an enormous amount of money promoting breast-feeding (a good thing), but does nothing to help those who could not or would not breastfeed. I propose that as a society we should embrace the healthful benefits and long term medical cost savings of nursing and work to provide those benefits to babies whose mothers can't nurse.

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