CONCEPTS OF DIET AND NUTRITION
Laufenberg also pays great attention to the food of the newborn,
the selection of a wet nurse, and to weaning and putting the child on
a diet of solid food.27 He recommends feeding the baby milk until
teething sets in. However, the milk produced by the mother immedi-
ately after she has given birth is considered harmful to the newborn,
which is why the baby initially should be fed by another woman until
the mother’s breast has settled. From then on the best milk, according
to Laufenberg, is that of the mother, an opinion not shared by all me-
dieval doctors. Especially in the aristocracy, where producing an heir
was often a primary concern, newborns were frequently handed over
to a wet nurse shortly after birth. That way the mother would stop lac-
tating and potentially become pregnant sooner than if she breast-fed
the child herself for a year or two. Laufenberg, whose audience is mid-
dle class, considers continuity in the diet as more important. The
newborn should be fed the food it has already grown used to in the
womb, and the mother is advised to continue eating the food she ate
during her pregnancy. The baby should be breast-fed two to three
times a day and be given a little honey before feeding starts. In the
morning the mother is told to remove the “coarse” milk before feed-
ing the baby. By invoking an unnamed medical authority referred to as
a “great master,” Laufenberg informs the reader of the belief that the
baby should be given some wine along with the mother’s milk, an
opinion that would probably raise some eyebrows in the medical com-
munity today. That Laufenberg himself was not too sure about this
recommendation can be seen from the fact that he returns to the sub-
ject at the end of the section and stresses that if a baby would like to
drink wine, it should be only a very small quantity that has been di-
luted in water.
Once the child starts teething, the gums should be rubbed with
butter, chicken fat, olive oil, the brain of a hare, or herbs. The gums
and throat also may be anointed with violet oil and the head washed
with a chamomile infusion. The child should be fed light, delicate
food, neither too hot nor too cold, a little soft and well-boiled piece
of meat, and nuts and bread chewed first by the mother. Bread crumbs
soaked in honey water or wine water in small quantities are also rec-
ommended. When the child begins to speak, the tongue should be
rubbed with salt. Honey, incense, and licorice are also described as
useful in inducing the child to speak.
Even if Laufenberg himself did not think highly of wet-nursing, it
was still a widely held practice in Europe, often out of necessity if the
mother had died in childbirth or did not produce enough milk, or if
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