18th century France saw an abundance of authors devoted to the promotion of breastfeeding, no doubt with the goal of lowering the then staggeringly high infant mortality. It was then general practice for couples living in urban areas to send their newborns to be breastfed in the countryside by some young, healthy, and paid mother. These 18th century doctors insist that breastfeeding is good for the mother and for the child, that the real mother should nurse her infant, and that feeding schedules should be not at all strict and nursing should go on till the mother wishes, or her health allows her to do so. Sexual relations were in the meantime forbidden, or reduced to a minimum. Despite all this good advice it appears that French parents continued sending their babies out to the countryside well into the 19th century.