Foundlings and wet nurses: geography of poverty in 18th century Valladolid

The world of foundlings and wet nurses is closely linked to that of poverty. In the case of the foundling hospital of the city of Valladolid, the Parenting Books allow us to know how many and who were those women who took the children out of the foundling hospital to take care of them at home. Its numerical evolution in the 18th century was clearly on the rise, similar to the evolution of the exhibition during that period, more and more numerous. The data indicates that these external wet nurses, most of them from rural areas, received a very low salary. Thanks to the work of the husbands of these wet nurses, we know that most of them were day laborers, which indicates the lack of family resources. Lastly, it has been proven that the wet nurses were grouped in a specific area of the city, the western area, leaving the noble center empty of foundlings.