History of Europe

The wet nurses' market:where breast milk was sold

In the 19th century, fleeing misery and famine, many women from the provinces headed for the capital in search of a future. Infant mortality rates in these areas were very high and many mothers who lost their newborn children decided to "hire" as wet nurses .

The road to Madrid was long and in order to keep the milk flowing, some of them provided themselves with a puppy to act as a baby. When they arrived in Madrid, they met in the Plaza de Santa Cruz, next to the Plaza Mayor, waiting for someone to hire their services.

Parallel to being «mother market » was born «The Drop of Milk «. These institutions were created to remedy the problems of malnutrition and high infant mortality in those families that could not afford to have a wet nurse, and whose mothers could not breastfeed. The original idea for "milk drops" came from France, where the doctor Dupont he had created the first one in 1894.

At the beginning of the 20th century they would be created in Barcelona, ​​Madrid and Seville. These institutions, in addition to providing pediatric care, facilitated milk feeding. The payment of their services depended on the social position of the patients, being free for the poorest.

Sources and image:Gota de Leche, Diario Información,