Lois,
I am also very interested in this subject and want to share a story.
I received a call last year from sisters, who admitted to me "We think we did
something bad!"  "What?" I asked.  Well, it seems they had babies about 2
months apart.  The sister with the younger baby had just come home from the
hospital.  Baby was not nursing well yet, in fact pretty poorly, so the sister
with the older baby helped her out, nursing the baby with her plentiful supply
and fully lactating breasts.  Bingo!  Baby got the message and went back to
Mama nursing like a pro.  Later they thought about it and thought perhaps they
had done "a terrible thing" and were very worried that there was some horrible
consequence that might happen to them or their babies.
"It sounds like you two are very close", I said.  "Oh yes, we are" they
answered emphatically.
"Do you kiss each other on the lips"
"Yes, we do."
"What you just did was intimate, as when you kiss on the lips.  You shared
some germs with each other and the babies, but you do that anyway."  I did
discuss the difference between their sharing of germs in this way, and wet
nursing among others  who could bring other germs into the relationship.
These sisters have a wonderful, warm, loving relationship and did the
perfectly natural, ancient tradition of helping each other by wet nursing.
They solved their own nursing dilemma quickly and effectively.  If more people
did this, there would be less need for us, for artificial milks,  or for so
many breastpumps.  I think it would empower women to help each other as they
used to do.

I know about the horrible risk of HIV/AIDS, but I don't think that fear should
make us reject wet nursing completely.  When we do we are loosing something
wonderful in our work to reestablish a breastfeeding culture.  Women
encouraged to be there and help each other is a piece that can make a big
difference.

Jane Bradshaw RN, BSN, IBCLC
Lynchburg, VA
south-central Virginia, USA