Baby Farming (1867 - )

From

1867

The term 'baby farming' was used in the nineteenth century to describe the fostering of infants, for a fee. It usually involved an infant being put into the care of a wet-nurse, who would breastfeed the infant. Otherwise, the child was fed artificially with cow's milk, which was a very difficult and dangerous practice before refrigeration, clean water supplies or infant formula, so many infants died in care. However the term developed nastier overtones after some sensational cases reported in the British press in 1867, in which women were accused of starving babies to death for profit.