How Lincoln Was Dissed

[Liz Rosenthal]

Mike: My intention in bringing up slaves who performed duties as "wet nurses," the correct term that Laurie uses above, was simply to point out how prevalent breast feeding was in those days. It wasn't to accuse your ancestors of being bad people.

I found this about baby formula on wikipedia: "This trend was driven by cultural changes as well as increased sanitation measures,[13] and it continued throughout the 19th and much of the 20th century, with a notable increase after Elijah Pratt invented and patented the India-rubber nipple in 1845.[9][14] As early as 1846, scientists and nutritionists noted an increase in medical problems and infant mortality was associated with dry nursing.[11][15] In an attempt to improve the quality of manufactured baby foods, in 1867, Justus von Liebig developed the world's first commercial infant formula, Liebig's Soluble Food for Babies.[16] The success of this product quickly gave rise to competitors such as Mellin's Infant Food, Ridge's Food for Infants and Nestlé's Milk.[17]"

(08-30-2013 02:21 PM)brtmchl Wrote:  Liz,
I was speaking from a mindset of the present. I thought that people who were not trolling for an argument would have picked up on that. It wasn't even intended as a serious post. But, I do in todays world, even in the most liberal mindsets of " it takes a village " think it is strange and a little disturbing to breast feed another's child. I am not a woman so I can not speak on their behalf, I must admit to being wrong from time to time about as to what a woman may be thinking, even though I would bet that most might find it strange also. No, Liz, I never intended to imply that Mary Lincoln posted signs instructing sick mothers to bring thier hungry babies to suckle from her bosom for her own enjoyment.
Thank you for the history lesson, I completely overlooked the fact that there were no disposable bottles of similac in the mid nineteenth century.
I also have some family in West Virginia, I will make sure to ask them about " the good 'ol days " if their Great Grantparents forced slaves to nurture their past relatives, because Great Grandma couldn't put down her lemonade. After all, all Southerner's are racist and had to own slaves somewhere along their line.