Brought Up “By Hand”: Victorian Artificial Feeding Practices

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dc.contributor.authorBrinham, Anna
dc.date.accessioned2022-09-08T16:24:06Z
dc.date.available2022-09-08T16:24:06Z
dc.date.copyright2022en_US
dc.date.issued2022-09-08
dc.description.abstractThe widespread practice of hand-feeding in the 19th century led to the death of 90% of artificially fed babies as feeding devices were unhygienic, lead-soldered, and contained unpasteurized, unrefrigerated, and adulterated animal milks. Superstitions surrounding the ability of breast milk to carry wet nurses’ undesirable traits and to be soured by semen contributed to a decline in breastfeeding in the 1700s, which was later compounded by industrialization and rural-to-urban migration. Although breast milk was hailed as the best infant food by physicians, maternal and neonatal illness, maternal death, foundlings, the decline of wet nursing and women entering the workforce drove many mothers to rely on the convenience and “scientific” nature of artificial feeding. The promotion, socioeconomic trends, and mechanics of hand-feeding – including how the design and use of feeding vessels determined whether an infant fed actively or passively – provide a comprehensive portrait of artificial feeding in the 19th century as modern science illuminates the unsanitary conditions which sparked high infant mortality rates.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelUndergraduateen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipValerie Kuehne Undergraduate Research Awards (VKURA)en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/14221
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subjectArtificial feedingen_US
dc.subjectHand-feedingen_US
dc.subjectWet nursingen_US
dc.subjectFoundlingsen_US
dc.subjectBreastfeedingen_US
dc.subjectBreast milken_US
dc.subjectIndustrializationen_US
dc.subjectMigrationen_US
dc.subjectLead poisoningen_US
dc.subjectPasteurizationen_US
dc.subjectPassive feedingen_US
dc.subjectActive feedingen_US
dc.titleBrought Up “By Hand”: Victorian Artificial Feeding Practicesen_US
dc.typePosteren_US

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