s/o below. I think that being a wet nurse is probably the worst job ever

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

I could NOT imagine breastfeeding for a living, breastfeeding my own was hard enough and truly a labor of love.

Having to breastfeed somone elses children on the regular would probably make me want to hang myself from the gallows, or however the hell they did it back in the day.

praline

lol!  Maybe not the worst job in the world, but I wouldn't want to do it that's for sure!

SumnerBride

I am totally with you on this one.

summerbrideDC

ooooookay.

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

summerbrideDC:

ooooookay.

Why "oooooooooooooookay?" Would this be your dream job?

goodheartedmommy

I wouldn't want to do it. That said, I am apparently not against them

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

goodheartedmommy:

I wouldn't want to do it. That said, I am apparently not against them

I'm not against them either really. I read a story that Selma Hyack breastfed a hungry African baby while she was there and I thought that was awesome! I could just not imagine doing it for a career YKWIM, especially when it's someone elses kids!  

goodheartedmommy

I decided I was interested in wet nurses in Bible times.

I found this :

Anthropological studies have observed that in many societies it was primarily the men (fathers, husbands of wet nurses) who determined whether the mother would breastfeed her child or whether this task would be given to a wet nurse. If the latter, it was the father, not the mother, who selected the nurse according to certain socially constructed criteria, reinforcing the mother's and child's subordinate place in an androcentric society (Maher: 6-10, 18-23; Giladi: 107). The Greek physician and medical writer Soranus offered an extended treatise on the desirable qualities of a wet nurse from a male perspective (Gynaecology 2.18-20--1st century CE, Rome). She would be no younger than twenty or older than forty. She would have given birth at least twice, thus being more practiced in rearing children than a novice with her first child. (Having borne Aaron and Miriam before Moses, Jochebed would have conformed to Soranus' ideal wet nurse.) She would have a healthy large body, since it was thought that milk from large bodies was more nourishing. Her breasts however would be of medium size, since small breasts yielded little milk. The problem with large breasts, according to Soranus, was that they contained more milk than was needed and when the child suckled next, the milk would no longer be fresh and perhaps even spoiled. The ideal wet nurse abstained from sexual intercourse, drinking, and lewdness. It was thought that sexual intercourse reduced the affection that the nurse would have toward the child, soured or reduced the milk supply, or even blocked it entirely by encouraging the onset of menstruation and thus making pregnancy possible. Drinking wine also spoiled the milk and, should the wet nurse pass out, left the child unattended. The adverse effects of alcohol could also pass into the milk, making the baby sluggish, comatose and sometimes convulsive. In addition to all these prerequisites, the wet nurse should be sweet-tempered, affectionate, and responsive to her charge (Lefkowitz & Fant: 268-70; Joshel: 6-11). Muslim requirements for wet nurses generally followed the Greek medical tradition (Giladi: 53-56).

cbidt*sgirl

pretty sure it was a job given to poor women so that the upper class didn't have to breastfeed.  not sure though - my knowledge of biblical times is extremely limited to my MIL's horror

goodheartedmommy

And this:

Women who appeared in wet nursing documents from Roman Egypt fell into two categories: free women from the lower rungs of society who hired out their services in return for a wage and slave women whose labor was hired out by their owners (Bradley 1980: 321).

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

goodheartedmommy:

And this:

Women who appeared in wet nursing documents from Roman Egypt fell into two categories: free women from the lower rungs of society who hired out their services in return for a wage and slave women whose labor was hired out by their owners (Bradley 1980: 321).

 I'll say it again worst.job.ever.

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

K-I-S-S-I-N-G:

goodheartedmommy:

And this:

Women who appeared in wet nursing documents from Roman Egypt fell into two categories: free women from the lower rungs of society who hired out their services in return for a wage and slave women whose labor was hired out by their owners (Bradley 1980: 321).

 I'll say it again worst.job.ever. These women should have gotten paid the big bucks, instead they got paid very little or were forced into it through slavery!

summerbrideDC

No, it's definitely not my dream job and it certainly was never anyone's dream job, as it was primarily done by poor women who had no other means of making a living.  

But in general, I don't think the idea of nursing another person's child is a disgusting and horrible or degrading thing.  I know many people who have, for lack of a better term, "wet nursed" for their friends and/or family when the situation required it. I just don't think feeding a baby could ever fall under my "worst jobs ever" list. 

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

summerbrideDC:

No, it's definitely not my dream job and it certainly was never anyone's dream job, as it was primarily done by poor women who had no other means of making a living.  

But in general, I don't think the idea of nursing another person's child is a disgusting and horrible or degrading thing.  I know many people who have, for lack of a better term, "wet nursed" for their friends and/or family when the situation required it. I just don't think feeding a baby could ever fall under my "worst jobs ever" list. 

Someone peed in your cheerios today fo sho. I don't think nursing another person's baby is gross either. Breastfeeding is just so hard I just could not imagine doing it day in day out for like 10+ years!

summerbrideDC

LOL, because I disagree w/ you that it's the worst job ever, someone "peed in my cheerios"?  all right; if you say so!

I don't want to do the job either; I agree w/ you that BF'ing is hard freaking work.  I don't want to work that hard at anything unless it's for my own kid.  I just thought the post stating it was a bit weird.  Not a big deal.  

veloelle

She never said it was degrading or any other adjectives used. She just said it was the worst job ever.