Murder bottles
In the 19th century, the infant mortality rate was very high. At that time, women want to have beautiful big families, like the queen. The reputation of "good or bad mother" is attributed to them according to the number of their living children.
In the aristocracy of the Victorian era, breastfeeding was unpopular for a long time. The queen not breastfeeding is something that the women of the aristocracy did not do.
These had to be refined and reserved, so this job fell to the nurses.
In this book, 2 chapters greatly influenced the way of caring for babies and children. She gave all the useful advice for breastfeeding, such as drinking lots of beer, while specifying to abstain from drinking Jill.
In Mrs. Beeton's many tips, we could find some to feed her child if for some reason the woman could not breastfeed. It talked about the use of baby bottles, which being a new invention, was explained in detail.
The concern is that the advice given on the use of the bottle took up a lot of space in the book. So much so that we thought Mrs. Beeton advocated the bottle.
In 1861, Isabella Beeton wrote a book that would strongly influence young Victorian women. This book was nothing more than a reference guide on how to manage a Victorian household. In it, Mrs. Beeton gives advice on cooking, hiring and firing house staff, but also on raising children.
These bottles had fantastic names like "the Empire bottle", names that were not given to them by chance, because these turned out to be dangerous for babies!
Why was it dangerous?
The bottles were glass or earthenware with a long rubber tube and nipple attached to it. These were also very difficult to clean due to their "banjo" design.
It also didn't help that Victorian women turned to Mrs. Beeton for advice. In her popular book, Ms Beeton advised young mothers that there was no need to wash the teat for two or three weeks, making baby bottles perfect incubators for deadly bacteria.
Although these bottles were condemned by doctors and the infant mortality rate at the time was extremely high, parents continued to buy and use them.
It was in 1894 that a safer bottle appeared, this one was a double-ended bottle. A teat was at one end and a valve at the other, its design was thought so that the milk flowed uninterrupted and easier to wash, which made it healthier.
Here are some authentic photos from the time:
My sources :
https://historydaily.org/feeding-bottles-of-the-victorian-era
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcTeLx5lNIA&t=3090s
Image sources:
https://www.pinterest.fr/AureliaHenryRoze/biberons-anciens/
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25629934
https://nourishingdeath.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/murder-bottles/
https://littlepennydreadful.tumblr.com/post/76193242995/a-little-history-of-the-victorian-murder
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313319040477
https://www.menufretin.fr/2020/02/isabella-beeton-gastronome-victorienne/
https://www.abebooks.com/Mrs-Beetons-Book-Household-Management-Facsimile/30357139763/bd