Hiring a wet nurse - the legalities?

This is totally theoretical because my womb is retired and my breast are all play and no work these days but......
Would it be legal for me to hire a wet-nurse?
Could I just pop an ad in Seek or my local classifieds seeking a lactating woman for a full-time live-in position position breast-feeding a baby and/or toddler?

What award would I need to pay her under?
Holidays or since it's a temporary role would I not need to worry about holiday pay?

I know that lots of people have informal wet-nursing arrangements but I'm curious about what would happen if I wanted a formal employer/employee relationship with a stranger.

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

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? :shhh:

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

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

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!!!

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.

just subbing :)

Finding this a very interesting topic.....

There is an household staffing agency in L.A. that provides them.
I think that US working conditions are rather different to Australian ones but still, it's interesting to know that there is at least one organisation providing wet-nursing as a formal employment option.

wow... I want a wet nurse! But it kinda freaks me out too!! I don't want my baby sucking someone else's boobs! lol..

So if it is $50 a litre then they wouldn't get paid very much a day!

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So if it is $50 a litre then they wouldn't get paid very much a day!

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That's if they are getting paid by the litre but I would assume that they are also paid for their time and unless they are a single Mum the rate of pay would also need to reflect the hardship of being away from their partner.

ETA - Since it would be discriminatory to pay people less if they were single then I guess the pay would have to be the same regardless of marital status. Even for a single Mum there might be hardship in being away from one's support network.

If it's a contract agreement where there employment is more than x%(i forget what x =. i think it might be 80) as your wetnurse, then legally they are an employee and entitled to accrue leave, personal leave etc. You'd also have to pay super.

As for hiring a person for the product of their body, I have no idea what Australian law would be. If she produced less than the required amount etc. I suppose that's one reason why in Australia, it's generally a volunteer position, like surrogacy or being a blood donor.

Would you provide meals? Would you decide what she could or couldn't eat? Eg if bub had an intolerance?

Interesting question.

This sounds like I'm making a joke but I'm really not - what about nipple injuries? Would that be covered by Worker's Compensation, if the baby wasn't attaching properly and caused split nipples or mastitis etc?

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This sounds like I'm making a joke but I'm really not - what about nipple injuries? Would that be covered by Worker's Compensation, if the baby wasn't attaching properly and caused split nipples or mastitis etc?

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Wouldn't they be, like, an old pro tho? Like qualified. Like a mechanic knows all the ins and outs and trouble shooting of repairing a motor... Wouldn't a wet-nurse be the same? But, like, with boobs?

I see what you're saying, but it's not always just Mum is it? Like, sometimes Mums with several children have trouble feeding one, because bubs not getting it right. Or is that not true?

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I see what you're saying, but it's not always just Mum is it? Like, sometimes Mums with several children have trouble feeding one, because bubs not getting it right. Or is that not true?

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No, but being "qualified" would mean you'd know how to trouble shoot?
I seriously wouldn't have a clue, I only feed 1, I'm just putting the perspective out there.

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wow... I want a wet nurse! But it kinda freaks me out too!! I don't want my baby sucking someone else's boobs! lol..

So if it is $50 a litre then they wouldn't get paid very much a day!

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I guess it depends on if their employment is strictly as a wet nurse, where Mum is not feeding bub at all, or whether they are providing an extra service as part of childcare. If they were getting childcare rates plus the bonus for wet nursing it might be ok.

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This sounds like I'm making a joke but I'm really not - what about nipple injuries? Would that be covered by Worker's Compensation, if the baby wasn't attaching properly and caused split nipples or mastitis etc?

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Maybe this would come under OH&S, where the employee has the responsibility to pay attention to safe work practises such as being aware of attachment, and maintaining their equipment (being conscious of blockages etc that can cause mastitis).

As a wet nurse I am guessing she has her own baby to feed as well, so who gets first 'dibs', her baby or her employers baby? What if her supply is not adequate for both? How much notice must a wet nurse give considering the service she is supplying?

She wouldn't necessarily have her own baby. She may have recently weaned or only be feeding an older child ocasionally.. it would just be a matter of increasing feeds to lift supply again.

what if your baby bonded really closeley to her and her to your baby... !!

I guess I'd hope that they did bond just as I hope that my children will bond with their teachers and extended family and my friends. I can't think of a scenario where being loved by lots of people is bad for a child. I'd be more concerned about their suitability to look after my baby if they didn't bond.

i was thinking more of a 'motherly' bond. would a mother start to feel jealous? would the wet nurse start to feel overly motherly? would the baby be confused? just some ideas or things to consider. i guess they would be the things that would come into my mind.. probably not justified or would necessarily happen but it would be something iw ould at least think about.

What about leave entitlements? If she were actually breastfeeding that is pretty much a seven day job, and as an employer you have to provide leave. Would you include random drug and alcohol testing in the contract? If you want her to follow a specific diet (and you are not providing the food ie cooking for her), does she get extra monetary payment to cover her for any extra expense plus a bit extra for her inconvinience. And during the day, does the baby go to her place, or does she come (with her small children), to yours?

I think that wet nursing is traditionally a live in position and the wet nurse receives the same diet as everyone else in the household.
I guess that temps could be arranged for days off or EBM. I can see the value in an agency to arrange it all lol.

What an interesting thread.. What would drive a woman to be a full time wet nurse?. I mean, I get the breast milk is so nutritious, and I'm unhappy I didn't know about milk donation before, but there's definitely a difference between donating milk, or being a fill in feed to being a full time wet nurse.. What about sleep deprivation etc?? And if they did have their own bub to feed, what if the babies woke at different times.. She could be feeding all day and night!! Or if she had a toddler, there could be jealousy issues..

I guess if you don't have other employment options and loved kids then perhaps it would be appealing? It might be attractive if it were a daytime position only - ie, for working mother who fed when she was home...

I've just posted in the other thread but I see no harm in repeating myself lol....
Since I generally have enough milk to feed a battalion of babies I can imagine that for a single mother without a job that provided maternity leave it would be a great job. You could work almost from the day you birthed your own baby, you could take your baby to work with you and if your work didn't include nannying or house keeping duties after a few months it could be quite easy work.
If you were married it would be less appealing unless it was a day job...