>
> What a world we live in where these things can happen to young families,
> women, men...where girls aged 16 can be having multiple pregnancies. I
have
> a 16 year old myself. I cannot fathom Emily in this position.
>
> What is our world coming to?
>
Hi Kathleen and Lactnetters,
    Sadly, I'm afraid there's nothing new under the sun.  Each generation,
especially those sheltered from the underbelly of life, believes that
squalid lives, drug-taking and early sex are new and wonders what our world
is coming to.  In Victorian English, yes, that straight-laced, prissy era
(at least for the comfortable classes), the age of consent was 12 years for
girls.  Yes, you read that right.  This was to protect the sons of gentlemen
from prosecution if they took advantage of servant girls or field workers.
Perhaps I should use the word "rape", since it was an unequal relationship
and the young girl had no say.  There was a lot going on that didn't get
into the belle lettres of the day (essays, novels, etiquette books) through
which later generations came to view the 19th century.  It was a real
eye-opener for me to study, in 1976, the "woman question" in 19th-century
literature and society, including researching infant feeding practices and
beliefs.
    Below are some references, for those who would like more information,
including on how working mothers (in mills and the field gangs) fed or doped
their babies, the use by the poorer classes of (cheap) opium derivatives to
sooth babies from birth, and the huge numbers of homeless street children in
the mid-19th century (far more than today).  From memory, there were an
estimated 30,000 homeless children in London at a time when the city's
population was only 1 million.  Laudanum, an opium derivative, was
administered as a syrup to "strengthen the heart" of a weakly baby or soothe
babies during teething or "colic", and deaths from opium overdose were put
down as "teething" or "colic".  Opium was used to quieten hungry children as
opium was cheaper than bread.  I haven't listed my primary sources, as they
may be difficult to locate in libraries.  However, two classic mid-19th
century works of sociology, by Engels and Mayhew, respectively, have been
reprinted in 20th -century editions and so are accessible.  This list is
alphabetical.
1. Crow D. The Victorian woman. New York: Stein & Day, 1972.
2. Engels F. The condition of the working class in England. Stanford Univ.
Press, 1968.
3. Mayhew. London labour and the London poor, volume IV. [Sorry, I can't
find publication details.]
4. Phillips V. Children in early-Victorian England: infant feeding in
literature and society, 1937-1857. J Trop Pediatr Envir Child Health 1978;
24(4): 158-166.
5. Pinchbeck I, Hewitt M. Children in English society. vol 2. London:
Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1969.
     This is disturbing reading.  Of course, some of the tragic cases seen
in inner-city hospitals today are probably part of what is called
"generational poverty", i.e. the mother, grandmother, great-grandmother (and
so on) probably never coped, except day to day, and never had a chance to
get out of squalid and depressing situations, compounded by early
pregnancies and the father skipping off.  People talk about "families", then
and now, but sometimes parents go off and disappear, and there aren't always
grandparents or extended family to take over.  Circumstances which to us are
horrific are part of the normal life experience for some sections of the
community.  I'm not offering any answers.  Experienced, caring people  been
unable to break the cycle for most of these clients, despite some individual
successes, and the workload for hospital staff and social workers with
inadequate funding and resources can only be imagined.  All I can offer is -
do the best that one can, in the circumstances of each mother.
     This is a gloomy note for New year's Eve, but it is the reality for
some people out there.
     Virginia

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