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For many young people who have just become parents, one of the things they often say is:
"Work hard to make milk powder money for your child!"
In the early years, after the "poisoned milk powder" incident appeared in the mainland, the people's requirements for the quality of milk powder also increased.
In modern society, people are more and more aware of how to enjoy life, and they are more and more professional in childcare, and they are becoming more and more particular about the use of baby care products.
In terms of milk powder, it is even more willing to spend a lot of money.
Although it is generally accepted that breastfeeding is optimal when it comes to breastfeeding.
However, some mothers will have insufficient milk due to physical or other reasons, and at this time, milk powder is the biggest helper.
However, these are all conveniences that are unique to modern society.
If in ancient times, mothers did not have enough breast milk, how to solve the problem of breastfeeding babies?
In ancient times, China's productivity was low, and too many families were poor and poor, and even solving the problem of food and clothing became a problem.
Under such living conditions, the body of adults will not be able to bear it, and the mother's milk will naturally not be too much, so people have to find some substitutes for breast milk.
But there was no such thing as milk powder at that time, so what should parents do?
At that time, there were several "soil methods".
The first is to borrow milk.
Just like now, in ancient times, breast milk could also be "borrowed".
In ancient times, the royal family or large families had special nurses for their children.
But the poor can't open the pot at home, and where can they afford to invite a nurse.
Moreover, in ancient times, because of the lack of material conditions, many babies died easily.
Coupled with the family concept of "more children and more blessings" and "preference for sons over daughters" in the past, even poor families will have many children.
This undoubtedly adds more burden to the mothers who are responsible for feeding.
So what is the "borrowing" method of "borrowing milk"?
In fact, as long as it is a lactating woman, she can be borrowed, but she also needs a certain amount of "watching the dishes".
If there is a nearby family where the newborn baby is gone, then she is the best candidate.
For mothers, if the child is not fed after birth, the breasts will swell badly and cause discomfort.
Secondly, if a pregnant woman has just experienced the loss of a child, then the child who comes to borrow milk can give her some relief and let her do some of her duties as a mother.
However, this milk is not "borrowed" for nothing.
Since ancient times, the Chinese have paid attention to "courtesy exchanges", and the same is true for borrowing milk.
Before being borrowed, the person who borrowed the milk will first recognize the child as the child's godmother, and bring a certain thank you gift, so that it can be justified.
However, while borrowing milk is one method, to be honest, milk is not that easy to borrow.
Not everyone is willing to lend milk, and women who have lost their children are not easy to find.
In this case, the problem of milk can only be solved by itself.
So people thought of a second way - drinking soup.
The soup here is not the kind of rice we drink now, but a thin soup made by powdering millet or rice with tools!
Not only does this soup not taste good, but it also has little nutritional value, but at least it keeps the baby alive.
However, even this thin soup with chicken ribs is still a luxury for many families.
We have all heard the term "rice beads and laurel", which means that rice is as expensive as pearls and firewood is as expensive as cinnamon wood.
Therefore, for many families in that era, they could not eat rice at all, let alone porridge mixed with rice powder.
However, in order to survive, human beings can always come up with a way.
In order to keep the child alive, people will beat up bran vegetables, wild vegetables, and even leaves to feed the babies.
Although eating these breast milk substitutes can temporarily save the child's life, if you eat this kind of food for a long time, it will definitely be malnourished, affecting the normal development of all aspects of the child's body, and there is no condition to provide timely and effective treatment for the baby.
Therefore, in ancient times, infant death was the norm.
Then some people can't help but ask, weren't there cows and sheep in ancient times, why didn't they just drink milk and goat's milk?
This is people's cognitive misunderstanding.
The milk we drink comes from black and white cattle, but this kind of cattle is only available in Europe, and the native cattle in China are used as laborers.
What if it's goat's milk?
Although sheep were very common in ancient times, goat's milk at that time could not be used to breastfeed babies.
These animal milk cannot be drunk directly when it is first expressed, and must go through a series of sterilization work before it can be drunk normally.
The various dairy products we drink now, no matter how fresh they are, have been processed to a certain extent.
Therefore, in ancient times, it was not feasible to replace breast milk with cow's or goat's milk, or it could be said to be unrealistic.
In fact, for people at that time, it was not easy for children to grow up safely.
In addition, in ancient times, due to regime change or military power struggle, the country was always at war, and people often had to face displacement and forced displacement.
In such a social environment, how many people can live their lives safely?
epilogue
It can be seen that in ancient times, although there was no milk powder in the case of insufficient breast milk, they could still find other alternatives.
It's just that this substitute can only maintain the most basic survival needs, and nothing else.
In contrast, the lives of modern children are so happy.