In this episode of Behind the Latch, Margaret Salty interviews Dr. Jacqueline H. Wolf, medical historian and author of Don’t Kill Your Baby: Public Health and the Decline of Breastfeeding in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Dr. Wolf is a professor at Ohio University whose research focuses on the history of breastfeeding, childbirth, and maternal-child health.
Together, they explore the historical forces that shaped infant feeding practices in the United States, how breastfeeding came to be mistrusted in the late 19th century, and what lessons today’s IBCLCs and public health professionals can draw from this history. Dr. Wolf shares insights into the rise of pediatrics, the role of wet nurses, the dangers of the early cow’s milk industry, and how “scientific feeding” transformed cultural attitudes toward women’s bodies and infant nutrition.
Dr. Wolf’s Journey into Medical History
Dr. Wolf shares how:
- Her personal experience of motherhood during graduate school inspired her dissertation on breastfeeding history.
- She transitioned from environmental history to medical history through this research.
- Teaching at a medical school gave her the rare opportunity to influence how future doctors think about breastfeeding and maternal health.
Why Breastfeeding Declined
They discuss:
- How rigid feeding schedules and cultural shifts tied to industrialization eroded breastfeeding success.
- Why mothers began reporting “not enough milk” for the first time in human history.
- How the medical community framed lactation as a disappearing biological function, legitimizing pediatricians’ growing role in infant feeding.
Wet Nurses, Class, and Exploitation
Dr. Wolf explains:
- The rise of wet nurse registries in Chicago and other cities.
- How poor women, often forced to abandon their own babies, sustained the lives of wealthy families’ infants.
- Why wet nurses remained invisible in history, even as they were central to infant survival.
The Birth of Infant Formula
They explore:
- How pediatricians partnered with dairy farmers to create “certified milk” and later milk laboratories.
- The origins of the term formula as mathematical prescriptions for modifying cow’s milk.
- Why formula became necessary for survival but should not be treated as a growth industry today.
Lingering Mistrust of Women’s Bodies
Dr. Wolf reflects on:
- How formula companies continue to market by exploiting doubts about women’s ability to produce enough milk.
- Why free samples, aggressive advertising, and partnerships with IBCLCs undermine breastfeeding.
- The importance of respecting women’s choices while advocating for systemic change, like paid maternity leave and stronger formula marketing regulation.
Lessons for Today’s Public Health Leaders
They emphasize:
- Why public health campaigns should empower rather than shame families.
- The urgent need for paid parental leave to support breastfeeding success.
- How IBCLCs can serve as advocates by challenging formula marketing and promoting evidence-based breastfeeding education.
Guest Info
Dr. Jacqueline H. Wolf
📚 Author of Don’t Kill Your Baby and several books on childbirth and maternal-child health
🌐 Substack: Urgent Care: Medical Historians Respond to Attacks on Public Health
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