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From: Patricia Frykberg <>
Subject: Re: [ZA] Wet-nurse RSA
Date: Fri, 05 Dec 2003 06:18:21 +1300
References: <!~!UENERkVCMDkAAQACAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABgAAAAAAAAANTJzLq8cT0CVk9a3/UPTF8KAAAAQAAAANIW134OVb0qs0lL/2vXejgEAAAAA@kolumbus.fi>


In England it was common during the early 18thC for the posh women to have
little to do with children and they were usually put out to a wet nurse.
Some complained that the milk from such poor women would damage the child.
Mary Woolstonecraft "founder of modern feminism" deplored the idea of wet
nursing and said it was the right of the woman to care for her child. She
published her book "The Rights of Women" in answer to Tom Paines "The right
of MAN" I'll need to check the library again but I think she also wrote a
pamphlet "the Rights of MEN"
Pat
----- Original Message -----
From: "Elizabeth Teir" <>
To: <>
Sent: Friday, 5 December 2003 12:32 AM
Subject: [ZA] Wet-nurse RSA


>
> Good Afternoon All,
>
> This is said under correction - My grandmother mentioned the topic first
> and explain where the word "aiya" come from. Left it there till recently
> I stumble cross it in literature, burgers called them "minnemoer".....
> >From grandmother I also understood it was a practise even in poverty
> homes in the case of a infant become orphaned just after birth or
> shortly there after. There were complications to this practise for the
> women...... Slaves was also employed as wet nurses and contribute to the
> fact that there duties was never specified.
>
> Moving abroad, French, it was during the Industrial period up to the
> 19th century wet nurses was employed by either the state (7 francs per
> month??) or wealthy families which paid a handsome price. There the term
> milk cow or élévage humain to the raising of the abandoned children
> (breeding like in cows) comes from. It was second common profession
> among women in poverty, prostitution was the first. Wet nursing is still
> practise in Africa, India, Middle East.
>
> It will be quite interesting to discover more on the topic.
>
> Rgds
> Elizabeth Teir
>
>
>
>
>
>
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volunteers who
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>

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