Abstract
In the mid-18th century, Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus, best known for developing the binomial classification system, expanded his taxonomic endeavors beyond the natural world and into the realm of social constructs. His 1752 publication, Nutrix Noverca (Nurse Stepmother), condemned the practice of wet nursing and framed breastfeeding as a biological and moral duty of all mothers. While Linnaeus’ work was not the first to criticize wet nursing, his reputation as the “Father of Taxonomy” granted scientific legitimacy to a preexisting moral campaign against mothers of all kinds. Linnaeus and his contemporaries weaponized medical rhetoric to vilify wet nurses, portraying them as negligent, morally corrupt, and physically unfit. Medical texts and popular literature alike accused wet nurses of drunkenness, promiscuity, and greed—depicting them as unclean women who tainted infants with their moral failings. At the same time, elite mothers who employed wet nurses were condemned as selfish and unnatural, abandoning their biological duties in favor of vanity and social pleasure. In contrast, the “ideal” mother was imagined as self-sacrificing, pure, and devoted exclusively to the well-being of her child. Through an analysis of medical literature, artistic representations of motherhood, and archival materials—including letters and 18th-century treatises—this study interrogates the long history of medical misinformation regarding maternal health. By positioning breastfeeding performed by biological mothers as a moral necessity, Linnaeus not only marginalized wet nurses, many of whom relied on the profession for economic survival, but also reinforced an ideal of maternal self-sacrifice that persists in public health discourse today.
Presenters
Alessandra PappalardiStudent, History of Science, Medicine & Public Health; Political Science, Yale University, Connecticut, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Civic, Political, and Community Studies
KEYWORDS
Family Construct, Maternal Criticism, Motherhood, Moral Campaigns, Wet Nursing
