Overview

From the colonial period through to the 20th century, this text examines the intersection of medical science, social theory and cultural practices as they shaped relations among wet nurses, physicians and families. It explores how Americans used wet nursing to solve infant feeding problems, shows why wet nursing became controversial as motherhood slowly became medicalized, and elaborates how the development of scientific infant feeding eliminated wet nursing by the beginning of the 20th century. Janet Golden's study contributes to our understanding of the cultural authority of medical science, the role of physicians in shaping child rearing practices, the social construction of motherhood, and the profound dilemmas of class and culture that played out in the private space of the nursery.

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9780814250723

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Reviews

This fascinating and well-researched book traces the history of wet nursing in America from the colonial era to the twentieth century.... Golden uses an impressive array of sources - including diaries, personal correspondence, domestic advice literature, medical tracts, newspaper ads, and the records of hospitals and welfare institutions - to probe the public debates over wet nursing, and the personal experiences of wet nurses and their employers.... This pathbreaking book is a must-read for historians of medicine, the family, and women's work . - Journal of Social History Golden's book is an enjoyable read. Her work provides a thoughtful and detailed discussion of the complexities involved in various wet nursing arrangements.... Golden's book is useful for those who are interested in the historical regulation of women's bodies and lives, especially for those who want to learn more about the historical regulation of poor, single mothers. - Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology In this interesting study, Golden ably weaves a complex story combining the history of women and child rearing, the growth of medical authority, class development, and attitudes about race, class, and ethnicity in nineteenth-century America. - Journal of Interdisciplinary History Janet Golden's history of wet nursing tells an important story....This book is well worth a close reading. - Bulletin of the History of Medicine

Author Information

Janet Golden is an associate professor of history at Rutgers University-Camden. She is the co-editor of Mothers and Motherhood: Readings in American History (Ohio State University Press) and coauthor of Pictures of Health: A Photographic History of Health Care in Philadelphia, 1860-1945.

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