DR. FRITZ B. TALBOT'S PAPER 325 



attempts that have come to the writer's notice. The 

 explanation is simple because the majority of women 

 who wish to become wet-nurses are destitute, and 

 cannot afford to wait for a position because they need 

 money immediately for their bread and butter. They 

 have, therefore, to wean the baby, put it out to board, 

 and go to work. 



There is a wet-nurse agency in the city of New 

 York run by private individuals, where wet-nurses can 

 be obtained by paying a fee of ten to twenty-five 

 dollars. These agents also take an unknown per- 

 centage of the wet-nurses' first month's wages. The 

 babies are placed out to board, and the writer has 

 been told on good authority that 90 per cent. die. 

 Although these wet-nurses are satisfactory to the 

 families, and a great deal of trouble may be saved, no 

 right-minded person who knows the facts should 

 allow the baby to be separated from the mother for 

 the convenience of the family or for selfish reasons. 



The following is a description of the essentials for 

 a directory and home for wet-nurses : first, the directory 

 should be run in connection with some babies' hospital 

 where the problems of breast-feeding are understood, 

 and secondly, there should be no charge for the board 

 of the wet-nurses because they are nearly all destitute. 

 The average length of time that they have to wait for 

 a position is fourteen days, and they could not afford 

 to wait so long if they were not helped in this manner. 

 The natural .result when such an opportunity is 

 afforded is that more women are able and willing 

 to wet-nurse. 



On February i, 1910, a Directory for Wet-nurses 1 

 was opened in Boston under the supervision of the 

 Massachusetts Babies' Hospital. A moderate sized 



1 See Talbot : A Directory for Wet-nurses : its experience 

 for twelve months. Journal of the American Medical Association, 

 June 10, 1911, vol. Ivi, pp. 1715-1717- 



