Los niños expósitos en la provincia de Ávila en el siglo XX

Abstract

During the 19th century and into the 20th century until 1970, the villages of the Alberche and Tiétar valleys were chosen by the Madrid Inclusa to house large numbers of foundlings to be raised by ‘external wet nurses’ in exchange for a modest salary.
The over-mortality in the Inclusas was so great that the authorities decided to hand over the abandoned newborns to the external wet nurses in the villages of Avila to be raised until they were 5-7 years old. But although the over-mortality decreased, in reality the high mortality was transferred to the foster families and to the villages.
This external fostering became a way of life to alleviate the family misery of many Avila households.
A few isolated cases of incompetence and neglect obscured an overall positive picture.