Hiring a wet nurse - the legalities?

[sneakysparkle]

wow thats an interesting thought - I have no idea! Would it be similar award to what a nanny gets?
Would you have the right to fire her if her milk supply wasn't sufficient? Or would that be grounds for unfair dismissal? Lol

[LimeSlice]

I would imagine it would be a contract position, so she would sign a contractual agreement with you to abide by certain rules/conditions of employment: no drugs, alcohol, medications etc, healthy diet and the job's continuation to be based on her ability to provide a stable and consistent milk supply would be apart of that.

I am sure there must be formal Wet Nurses still employed somewhere in the world... Perhaps the ABA would have information on the requirements of engaging a full time Wet Nurse.


Oh, can I borrow her?

[onthefly]

i totally want one. Only problem is DD will only allow me to hold her most of the time...

I have often wondered this myself. not sure where you'd stand on liability

[Lily Dust]

I would apply I couldnt give my milk away when I needed to and DD wasnt very appreciative at all

Depending on what time frame you would look at hiring a wet nurse for, Im assuming things like annual leave etc would be accrued (sp?). If perhaps, you wanted your baby fed 'longer' term, like 1 year+ I guess things like maternity leave etc would be taken into account too. Also if she was sick, do you bring in a temp wet nurse???

What a really interesting thought!!!

[HotI]

I have been reading an interesting book called "Fresh Milk: THe secret life of breasts" by Fiona Giles. It is a compilation of stories about breastfeeding and breasts.

One of the stories is of a woman who in 1987 advertised for a wet nurse to feed her daughter while she was attending uni classes. The baby wouldn't take a bottle, the Mum didn't like expressing and wasn't able to have the baby brought to her for feeds and so she wanted a wet nurse to be able to feed her. She got 4 applicants, but none of them wanted to be paid. After interviews she chose one of the women, and she wet nursed the infant for the term of her studies.

Another section in the book discusses the value of breastmilk. Based on 1992 Australian figures, an economist estimated that breastmik was worth approximately $50 a litre.

The book also stated that Norway is the only country to include human milk output in its annual reports on national food production.

[Jennie13]

just subbing

[Floweryfields]

Finding this a very interesting topic.....