nutrici

Nutrici is the Italian plural noun for a wet nurse. The term derives from Latin nutrīx, through the medieval and early modern Italian noun nutrice, with nutrici forming the feminine plural. Historically, nutrici were women hired to breastfeed and care for infants when the mother could not or chose not to, providing nutrition, comfort, and basic childcare. They often resided in the child’s household and played a central role in early infant care, participating in the family’s social network and economy. The status and duties of nutrici varied by time and place; in affluent households they were trusted staff, while in other settings they offered services in markets or urban inns. The practice reflected contemporary norms about motherhood, lactation, and labor, and intersected with medical beliefs about breast milk, infant health, and maternal bonding. Relationships between mother and nutrici ranged from professional to intimate, and the nurse could become a key caregiver figure for the child. With the rise of artificial infant feeding and changing social structures, wet-nursing declined in many regions from the 19th century onward; today, the term persists mainly in historical descriptions, literature, and regional speech rather than as an active occupational term in standard Italian.