Laura posted:
>Someone recently referred to dry nursing. I found this in Lawrence's 5th
>edition of Breastfeeding, A guide for the medical profession on page 9:
>"On the birth of the Prince of Wales (later George IV) in 1762, it was
>officially announced: wet nurse. Mrs. Scott; dry nurse, Mrs. Chapman;
>rockers, Jane Simpson and Catherine Johnson."
I think the reference on lactnet was to putting a baby to a non-lactating
breast. In the case of George IV the dry nurse would be for caring for him in
general but not breastfeeding him, I'd guess (it would have had, no doubt, a
very specific meaning at the time). In essence, Mrs Scott breastfed him, Mrs
Chapman organised his care and Jane and Catherine (notice how they have first
names and not the honorific of Mrs -- or Mistress -- which at the time denoted
status not marital status) did the scut work. That's my guess, anyway.
Bet he had a laundress, too.
Dry nursing was later used as a synonym for hand-rearing, I seem to remember --
i.e. feeding a baby with pap or panada instead of either maternal breastfeeding
or wet nursing. There is one case in Fildes at the end of the 18th century
where Samuel some-one-or-other was hand reared on beer, and lived into his 80's.
(In this era, before tea or coffee were affordable and water was often pretty
if-y, people, including children, drank small beer at breakfast and throughout
the day.)
In general the British usage of nursing does not imply breastfeeding. For
example, in Alice in Wonderland, Alice has the baby thrust upon her by the
Duchess and the Cook and she walks away nursing it -- i.e. cuddling, soothing,
holding it -- until it turns into a pig. (A rich seam of metaphor for you
*there*).
Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter, BfN, UK (and a BA in history)
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