Wet Nurse: What It Means, Its History and Modern Alternatives

A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds a baby who isn’t her own. For thousands of years, wet nurses kept babies alive when their mothers had died, were ill or couldn’t make enough milk, and later they were hired by wealthy families who chose not to breastfeed.

Today the idea can sound old-fashioned, but the need behind it hasn’t gone away. Here’s what wet nursing was, why it faded, and the modern options for babies who need someone else’s milk. For general feeding advice, see our breastfeeding basics overview.

What is a wet nurse?

La Leche League International defines wet nursing as the complete nursing of someone else’s baby. It is different from:

• Cross-nursing (co-nursing): occasionally breastfeeding another person’s baby, for example friends, sisters or other relatives nursing each other’s babies while the baby’s own parent continues to breastfeed.
• Milk donation: giving expressed milk, usually through a milk bank.
• Dry nursing: historically, caring for a baby without breastfeeding them.

A short history of wet nursing

According to a review of infant feeding history by Stevens and colleagues (2009), wet nursing dates back to at least 2000 BC.

• The ancient world: in the Roman Empire, between about 300 BC and AD 400, written contracts were made with wet nurses to feed abandoned babies.
• Medieval and Renaissance Europe: wet nursing was widespread, especially among wealthier families, even though it faced objections. In France, wet nurses were registered and regulated in the 16th and 17th centuries.
• The 18th and 19th centuries: wet nursing spread to lower-income families during the Industrial Revolution.
• The American South: historians Emily West and R.J. Knight have documented how enslaved Black women were forced to nurse their enslavers’ children, often at the expense of feeding their own babies.

This history is a reminder that wet nursing was often about unequal power, not just about milk. La Leche League still cautions anyone considering a wet-nursing arrangement to guard against any pressure or coercion on the person doing the nursing.

Why wet nursing declined

Stevens and colleagues link the decline of wet nursing to several changes in the 19th and early 20th centuries:

• Society came to view the practice more negatively
• Feeding bottles and rubber nipples improved
• Animal milk became easier to get
• Commercial infant formula developed and became safer

By the early 20th century, professional wet nursing had largely disappeared in Europe and North America. Our article on the history of breastfeeding covers the rise of formula in more detail.

Modern equivalent 1: donor milk banks

The closest modern version of a wet nurse is a human milk bank. In North America, nonprofit milk banks are accredited by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), which sets standards for how they work.

How milk banks keep donor milk safe:

• Donors are screened with a health and lifestyle history and blood tests for infections
• Milk is collected, stored and handled under strict rules
• Milk is pasteurized and tested for bacteria before it is given to babies

La Leche League notes that milk banks are medically supervised and mainly supply milk by prescription, often to babies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The AAP supports pasteurized donor milk for high-risk babies, especially very small preterm babies, when their own parent’s milk isn’t available or isn’t enough. If you have extra milk, donating to an accredited bank is a meaningful way to help. Our guide on how to increase milk supply may help first if your own supply is the problem.

Modern equivalent 2: informal milk sharing

Some parents share breast milk directly, through friends, online groups or websites. It can feel like a modern, generous form of wet nursing, but health agencies are cautious:

• The FDA does not recommend feeding your baby breast milk obtained directly from individuals or through the internet.
• The AAP advises against internet-based or informal milk sharing.

The risks the FDA and AAP describe include:

• Infections: donors are unlikely to have been properly screened, so milk could carry viruses such as HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C or cytomegalovirus (CMV), or bacteria
• Medicines and substances: milk may contain illegal drugs, some prescription or over-the-counter medicines, alcohol or herbs
• Contamination: milk that isn’t pumped, stored or handled correctly can grow bacteria.

If you’re considering milk sharing, talk to your baby’s pediatrician first. Milk from an accredited milk bank is the safer option when a baby needs breast milk from someone else. For safe handling of any expressed milk, see our breast milk storage guidelines.

Modern equivalent 3: cross-nursing and co-nursing

Some families choose cross-nursing, such as two friends who nurse each other’s babies during childcare, or co-nursing, where two parents both breastfeed the same baby. La Leche League encourages families to discuss this carefully with everyone involved before deciding. Points to consider:

• Infection risk: a baby who nurses directly takes in unpasteurized milk. Some infections, including HIV and HTLV, mean breastfeeding is not recommended at all, according to the CDC. Both adults should know their own health status and talk openly about it.
• Medicines: anything the nursing person takes may pass into their milk. The baby’s parents need to know about all medicines, supplements, alcohol and other substances.
• Feeding differences: a different milk flow or let-down can confuse or frustrate some babies, and older babies may refuse another person’s breast.
• Milk supply: feeding an extra baby increases the nursing person’s milk production, and the baby’s own parent may need to pump to protect their supply.
• Your baby’s doctor: talk to both babies’ doctors before starting.

When to talk to a doctor or lactation consultant

Talk to your pediatrician if your baby needs more milk than you can provide, before using donor milk, or before any milk sharing or cross-nursing arrangement. An IBCLC can help you protect or increase your own supply, plan supplementing, or, for adoptive and intended parents, explore inducing lactation with your doctor. Our breastfeeding support page lists where to find this kind of help.