How Enslaved African Mothers Were Forced To Breastfeed White Babies, After Childbirth
November 20, 2020 1665
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There is no greater evil than for a newly born child to be
snatched away from the mother’s arms and refused the mother’s breastmilk. More
wicked is the mother being forced to use her breast milk to feed another
woman’s child.
This was the situation many African slave women found
themselves in during slavery. And the practice was called wet
nursing. Although wet nursing was practiced and was a means of
employment in many countries in Europe before slavery, it was forced on enslaved African mothers, which led to the death of many of the African slave babies.
When slavery began, the African women worked in the
plantations and stayed in their quarters. But as slavery continued, they soon proved
to be very industrious and strong. They had to be given roles in the living
quarters of the slave owners to work, cook, and clean for their mistresses. If the mistress plenty of children, the African women slave
were made to help in caring for the child.
There was a general belief in America and Europe at the
time, that breastfeeding was messy and would make white mothers lose shape and
figure. They wanted to look enticing to their husbands, so they denied their
own babies their breastmilk and then forced African slave mothers to take their
roles. They didn’t care if the babies of the African slave women died. They
just wanted to look hot. They didn’t want to be stressed.
Now, what kind of people would think in this manner? Right
thinking humans? Well, that is strongly doubted.
The initial refusal of white mothers to breastfeed their babies, resulted in many of their children dying. But the babies of the African slave families were healthy and survived the early months of childhood.
The
mistresses got envious of the African slave mothers and how their babies
blossomed. Something had to be done to hurt them and snuff out their joy. And
that something was forced wet nursing, leaving the African mother’s babies to
die of malnutrition.
The inhumane practice becomes
very popular in the 1800s. Once a slave mother had a child, she was hurriedly
assigned to a white mistress and forced to breastfeed her white baby instead of
her own. By the 17th century, wet nursing by African slaves had become very
popular and rampant in Europe. The practice was then transported to America by
British settlers.
Most young, strong, and healthy African
slave women were also forced to breastfeed the white babies of their mistresses.
This was after doctors discovered that the continuous sucking of a sexually
active female’s breast would result in lactation.
To fully enforce this practice,
slave traders and owners often kidnapped newborn babies from their slave
mothers. This was to cause pain in the breasts of the mother and give them no
choice but to breastfeed the babies of the white mistresses. These African
slave women were beaten and milked like cows if they were reluctant to feed the
slave owner’s babies.
In some cases, the enslaved mother’s child and the white child would be raised together in their younger years. Sometimes both babies were fathered by the same man, the slave-owner. And this led to children who were referred to as Children of the plantation.
The white child was often kept with the enslaved women
until the child’s family felt it was time to take them back. Due to the
unfavorable and unhealthy living conditions, many of the white babies died.
This made the
slaveowners think the enslaved women were killing them on purpose out of
vengeance for their abandoned and dying children. The slave mothers were forced
to move into the house during this period, so they could be watched and
monitored.
One of the negative outcomes of
this practice was the disdain with which the husbands of the enslaved women had
for them. Some of the women were rejected by their husbands after the death of
their own children. This hate for the women was engineered by the malicious
manipulations of the slave masters.
These practices continued throughout
the era of slavery and began to die down after the abolishment of slavery.
Some of the women gained their freedom or were bought by their family and
relatives.
Many circles in the world would ask
us not to talk about these things. They say it's in the past, and that those who
perpetuated these crimes together with their victims are long dead. But we
refuse to keep quiet because millions of those in this generation know little
or nothing about their past.
Yes, they say slavery is not African history. But we say, no, it is a part of the history of our people’s journey. Many of the subjugations our people face all over the world are by-products of the psychology of the slave masters.
They passed these to their
children and, their children handed it over to the generations after them. The
racism the African Diaspora experience, are not fresh. They are a manifestation
of the hatred in the genes of the colonizer. Although not every white person is
racist, the system is inherently arranged to maltreat Africans in Diaspora.
No baby should be denied the breastmilk of her mother. This
is because breast milk is
nature's and God’s recommended baby food. It contains immunity-boosting
antibodies and healthy enzymes.
History and medical studies show that breastmilk protects against allergies and eczema, reduces the risk of
viruses, urinary tract infections, inflammatory bowel disease, gastroenteritis,
ear infections, and respiratory infections.
These were the dangers and diseases the newly born African slave babies
were faced with. This was why many of them died.
If we were to truly say it as it is, we might conclude that the
wickedness visited upon the Negro race, is so extreme that we will call these
slave masters aliens – people of another planet who were bent on reducing the
Negro man to rubble.
But this article is not meant for name-calling. It is a sincere desire
to teach our people our journey through slavery. It is also meant to teach the
African Diaspora woman the importance of
breastfeeding a child. Every child should be breastfed. Let us abandon this need to feed our babies with cow milk and all sorts of
supplements when Mother
Nature has blessed the woman with all she needs to bring up a healthy child.
Do not be shy about breastfeeding your child. Do not buy into
the lies of the system.