Antique Breastfeeding

We think we are so new-fangled with our breastfeeding clothing, breast pumps, etc. Not so!
Here's an antique corset for a breastfeeding mother, from the turn of the Century.

More views of "nursing garb" here on a page which discusses a variety of historical periods, including some medieval.  A fuller selection is available on Historic Photos & Prints of Breastfeeding (links here to the facebook page, or a website in development.)

Feeding at playgroup?

Many of the images show women feeding their children in public, not just domestic scenes.  It can really upset the applecart of our preconceived ideas about Straitlaced Victorians to see the images of mothers openly nursing their babies & toddlers! It all goes to show that the formula era was the cause of our modern distortion of what Breasts are for.

Breastfeeding equipment
Fascinating old baby-feeding devices are shown here on a blog/catalogue from a Museum in British Columbia.

Silver nipple sheild ~ 1880

In the book "Breastfeeding Matters" by Maureen Minchin, there are photographs of nipple shields made of wood or glass, some from as early as 1864.  I have also seen beautiful examples manufactured from ivory, and from silver (on the Phisick site). 

Also there on the Phisick site was a gorgeous breastpump made from pewter. And in an American museum, a scary scary breastpump made of glass & brass, from ~1850.

Breastpump ~1850

Nestle milk advert 1895

Artificial Infant Milk 
Artificial Infant Milk in powdered form began to be available in 1915. (Recipes for home-made BM substitutes were obviously around before then, though!)  In general, though, if a baby could not be fed by it's own mother then a Wet Nurse would have been found. Some women were professional wet nurses and earned a good wage! The practise fell out of favour only after WWII in the UK.

You can read a full history of artificial infant milks on Wikipedia. A full description of Breastfeeding from it's natural beginnings to the lowest point (~1975) can be read here - but you need to scoot down to page 23 to begin.

Here's an example of some of the language used in Victorian times - found in the Motherwear Breastfeeding blog.  Keep that breast covered up, ladies - you don't want to catch "gathered breast"!!