Writing on this subject M. Hanon says that of 59,927 infants born in Paris, 20,049 are sent into the country to nurses. Of those children that remain in Paris, and that are so rarely suckled by their mothers, no less than 8250 die from 0-1 year, which gives a death-rate of 243 per 1000 births. As to the mortality of the unfortunate infants, 20,049 in number, sent off to nurse, this amounts to 500 or 700 per 1000 in the first year of life.
We extract the following from the ‘Echo’ of October 9th, 1878:
“ALLEGED BABY-FARMING.
“Dr Hardwicke, the coroner for Central Middlesex, held an inquest at the Islington Coroner’s Court, Holloway Road, this morning, relative to the death of the female child of Emily Corley, a servant at 49, Gower Street, Euston Road. Mr Baby, the inspector under the Infants Life Protection Act, watched the case. The mother of the child had gone to service as a wet nurse after coming out of the workhouse, leaving it with one Ann Leach, who said it was a very delicate child. She added that she had for a time two children under one year of age with her, and had been told that this was contrary to the Act. The inspector under the Infant Life Protection Act pointed out that persons having more than one child to nurse under a year old had to obtain a licence. The coroner characterised the Act
as a mere farce. It left children to take care of themselves after they were twelve months old—the most critical time of their existence. He also remarked on how prolific a source of prostitution such cases as the present were, where mothers had to forsake their own illegitimate offspring, depriving them of breast milk in order that they might sell it to the rich. The jury found that the child died from exhaustion following from diarrhœa, accelerated by want of breast milk.”
INFANTS, Food for. For the newly-born and very young of all mammiferous animals, no food is so expressly and admirably adapted as that drawn from the mother. In the nourishment of the babe from the maternal breast lies the soundest condition for its physical well-being and growth, subject to the qualification that the mother must be in good health, which, of course, implies that she must be well fed. This latter essential fulfilled, it is very wonderful to note how nature makes provision for the proper nourishment of the offspring by converting even a weakly and frequently ailing mother into a strong one during the period of suckling.
There may be, and doubtless are, many circumstances in which lactation cannot be practised with safety either to mother or child; but, where such circumstances do not exist, the practice of seeking the vicarious services of the wet-nurse, or of having recourse to other than the maternal milk, for many reasons, calls for remonstrance and reproof.
We may emphasise this by the following quotation from Dr West’s admirable work, ‘Diseases of Infancy and Childhood.’ He says: “The infant whose mother refuses to perform towards it a mother’s part, or who by accident, disease, or death is deprived of the food that nature destined for it, too often languishes and dies. Such children you may see with no fat to give plumpness to their limbs—no red particles in their blood to impart a healthy hue to the skin, their face wearing in infancy the lineaments of age; the voice a constant wail; their whole aspect an embodiment of woe. But give to such children the food that nature destined for them, and if the remedy do not come too late to save them, the mournful cry will cease, the face will assume a look of content, by degrees the features will disclose themselves, the limbs will grow round, the skin pure red and white.”
But although the maternal aliment (or, failing this, that supplied from the breast of a young and healthy wet-nurse, who has been recently confined) is undoubtedly the best adapted for infantile nutrition, it fortunately happens that in circumstances where the infant is unable to be fed from either of these sources, we have a very valuable substitute in the milk of the cow, the similarity of which, in composition to woman’s milk, will be seen at once by studying the following table arranged by Dr Letheby:
| Woman’s Milk. | Cow’s Milk. | |||
| Max. | Min. | Average. | Average. | |
| Casein | 4·36 | 2·97 | 3·52 | 3·64 |
| Butter | 5·18 | 4·45 | 4·02 | 3·55 |
| Sugar of Milk | 4·43 | 3·29 | 4·27 | 4·70 |
| Various salts | 0·26 | 0·38 | 0·28 | 0·81 |
| Total solids | 14·20 | 11·09 | 12·09 | 12·70 |
| Water | 85·80 | 88·91 | 87·91 | 87·30 |
| Total | 100·00 | 100·00 | 100·00 | 100·00 |