The wet nurses and the biomedical regulation of cross-nursing: contributions of social anthropology and history

Abstract

This article presents a critical review of the literature about the wet nurses, through the recovery of the historical process of the emergence and decline of this practice in Brazil, according to the social, political-economic and cultural context. Methodologically, the starting point was the synergistic interface approach to historical phenomenon with anthropological interpretation, using the theoretical framework of Marcel Mauss’s Total Social Phenomenon. By means of appropriation of the anthropological perspective, that emphasizes diversity and considers the symbols and meanings involved in the formation of discourses about the wet nurses in our society, this reflection run across the european cultural heritage, the changes introduced in XIX Century until its regulation in XX Century, the influences on hygienists, on childcare and the beginning of the HIV epidemic.