Blue and white transfer printed boat shaped infant's feeding bottle, Crellin 33, English, 1801-1891

The use of infant feeding bottles increased during the 1800s. They sometimes had harmful results. Doctors advised breastfeeding was best for infants. It should be done by the mother if possible, or a wet nurse of ‘good moral character’. Many babies were fed less beneficial products such as unboiled cow’s milk, sugar water or ‘pap’. Pap was a mixture of bread or flour, milk and sugar. Bottles were often poorly cleaned and were havens for germs. Dried milk and condensed milk were introduced in the 1860s. However, doctors opposed their use. They claimed the milk caused diarrhoea, indigestion and rickets in babies. This infant feeding bottle is ceramic.