How Does a Wet Nurse Spend a Workday?

What is a Wet Nurse?

A wet nurse is a woman who is hired to breastfeed a baby who is not her own. Sometimes when a woman gives birth, she is unable or unwilling to breastfeed her own baby, and a wet nurse is hired to breastfeed the baby instead. Since breastmilk is best for a baby, nutritionally and psychologically, wet nurses can be an option in emergency situations, instead of using formula. If a new mom has a serious illness, or is on certain medications, breastfeeding the baby herself can be dangerous for the baby. Sometimes a woman has given birth to multiple babies and needs help nursing them all. Sometimes a baby is adopted by men who want the baby to be breastfed and a wet nurse is hired. Wet nursing is more common in third world countries now, and in the past was more popular in general when there was a higher rate of mothers dying in childbirth. In some countries, like China, women use wet nurses as a status symbol, handing off that intimate chore to a hired breast. In general, in the modern U.S. and the U.K., it takes a special person or special needs to use a wet nurse.

The Milk is the Thing

A wet nurse will generally live with the family for whom she is hired. Since a newborn baby will breastfeed every two hours in the first few months, a wet nurse will have to be available at all hours of the day and night and would reside with the infant in her charge. A wet nurse sleeps in a room off of the nursery so she can be close to the baby to monitor when when he wakes, to feed him. A day might start at 5:00 a.m. with a feeding before the rest of the house is awake. The wet nurse will gather the crying baby and sit in a rocking chair in the nursery, or another quiet place, and nurse the baby. She will nurse about 10 minutes on one breast, then burp the baby, change the baby's diaper and then nurse the baby on the other breast. A newborn will fall asleep after nursing. The wet nurse will lay the baby back in his crib and head back to bed. The wet nurse will drink a glass of water or juice to keep hydrated (and keep milk flowing) while she is nursing or right afterwards. The rest of the day is centered around the baby's nursing schedule. A very young baby will nurse every 2 hours, so the wet nurse will repeat her nursing routine every 2 hours, interspersing with naps, dressing and diapering the baby (unless he has a separate nurse for that), and offering the baby to the parents. The wet nurse must remain close, as the breastfeeding bond between herself and the baby will internally remind both nurse and baby when the next feeding is approaching. Either the baby's stomach will force the baby to elicit a cry, or the wet nurse's breasts will become swollen with milk.

No Rest for the Weary

Between following the baby wherever the parents need to take him and trying to keep her own body hydrated and fed to keep milk production at a maximum output, a wet nurse will be on call at all times and tireless. Producing breastmilk and breastfeeding uses up an extra 400 calories a day, so a wet nurse must schedule frequent times to eat (and shower and dress herself) around the nursing of the baby, as well as drinking extra liquid to keep her body running and her milk production optimum. By the end of the day, a wet nurse may have nursed at 5:00 a.m., 7:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. A baby will sometimes sleep 3 to 4 hours between feedings at night and the wet nurse can get a few extra minutes of sleep during those times. As the baby gets older, the wet nurse will have typically 4 hours between feedings and by 1 year old, the baby may be weaned, or may be down to three or four feedings a day with breakfast, lunch, bedtime and midnight. By spending so much close time with the baby, a wet nurse will grow very attached to him. A wet nurse may be employed for up to two years, attending to one baby.