The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-03-20 00:00:00

BABY FARMING.

At the ordinary meeting of the Social Science Asso-
ciation in London, on Monday evening, Or. Farr,
F.R.S., presiding, a paper was read by Mr. J. B.
Curgenven on the subject of "Baby Farming and the
Registration of Nurses." notwithstanding that all
interested in the matter were invited, not more than a
dozen persons were present. The paper referred to
the practice of a low class of midwives receiving into
their houses single women to be confined, taking the
child for a fixed sum, or a small weekly payment, too
frequently occasioning its death by neglect or ill-
treatment. Two recent cases of baby farming were '
alluded to by way of illustration, and after stating that
the annual number of ille2itimate children born in this
country was 50,000, of whom two-thirds were put out
to nurse to these baby farmers, it urged the duty of
State supervision by means of an efficient system of
medical registration, and advocated a scheme of colo-
nisation for illegitimate children among the families of
the honest, industrious poor. The writer recommended
the association to frame a measure, to be submitted to
Parliament, providing for the registration and super-
vision of all dry or foster nurses who receive children
to take care of, and all persons adopting children for a
money consideration. Provision to be made for the
registration of the child and the parent or parents, the
feeding, medical care (by the union medical officer),
vaccination, education at the parish school, and other
obviously necessary details.
Captain Clode moved that the paper be printed and
circulated amongst the members, and referred to the
standing committee of health, recommending the pre-
paration of a Bill embodying the chief points suggested
by Mr. Cur.(enven.
Mr. Theobald, although agreeing that registration
was necessary, thought it wrong to commit the society
to all the recommendations of the paper, especially to
the inference that all nurses or institutions receiving
nurse children were in a more or lese degree criminal.
He thou At the paper should be simply referred to the
committee for consideration.
Or. Rendle considered that one great cause of the
number of illegitimate births was the tone of society,
which discouraged young men from marrying by
exempting them in one way or other from taxes and
other pecuniary burdens which married men were
necessarily liable to. Child-murder was too of ,;en dealt
lightly with by our criminal courts, although it was
well known that in many instances when a child was
entrusted to one of these advertising nurses it was ex-
pected it would only live for two or three months. He
advocated more stringent regulations for investigating
and registering the causes of deaths.
The discussion was continued by Dr. Acton and
another speaker, who ni.ggested that, to go to the root
,f the evil, thy must alter the bastardy laws, so as to
rirdre the father of the illegitimate child more directly
liable. If the Foundling Hospital carried out the
objects for which it was founded, in accordance with
its ample means, the existing evil would be reduced to
a considerable extent.
In the end Mr. Curgenven was thanked for his
paper, which was referred to the committee.