Throughout history there has been a need for alternative feeding methods for infants. Whether due to a problem with breast milk production or the death of the mother, there have always been babies who have needed something other than breast milk. In more recent history, alternative nutrition has also been used as a convenience. Before the development of infant formula in 1865, animal milk and wet nurses were used to feed orphaned infants or others whose mothers could not, or chose not to, breastfeed. Between 1950 and 1970, breastfeeding rates dropped dramatically. Some studies suggest that more than 75 percent of American babies born during that period were fed formula. As rates of diabetes, obesity and other health problems continue to rise, researchers are examining how people feed their babies and what effects large amounts of high-calorie "breast milk substitute" might have. Infant formula is considered one of the factors contributing to America's growing health crisis. American mothers may be inadvertently predisposing their children to lifelong health problems by choosing not to breastfeed. Throughout recorded history, many feeding devices have been created to administer animal milk, most commonly cow's milk, to infants. These vessels or feeding devices have been found in all shapes and sizes dating back thousands of years BC. Before 1865 wet nurses were the most common source of alternative nutrition for newborns, but by 1900 the profession was nearly extinct due of the practice of "falling out". socially and the introduction of baby bottles. In the early 19th century, the use of impure power devices, along with t...... half of the paper ......a Power”. June 2001. Web. May 2014Ben-Ishai, Liz. “Marketing Baby Formula in Hospitals” Citizen.Org. 2014. Web. 10 May 2014Gibbs, BG. Forste, R. “Socioeconomic Status, Infant Feeding Practices, and Early Childhood Obesity.” International Journal of Pediatric Obesity. February 2012. Web. 15 May 2014 “Infant and young child nutrition, Global strategy on infant and young child feeding”. World Health Organization. April 16, 2002. Web. May 15, 2014 Patrick, Thelma E, Marina Militare, PhD. Pickler, Rita, RN, PNP, PhD. Stevens, Emily ERN, FNP, WHNP, PhD. "A History of Infant Nutrition." Journal of perinatal education. Spring 2009; 18(2): 32–39. Print.Parry, K., Taylor, E., Hall-Dardess, P., Walker, M. and Labbok, M. (2013), Understanding women's interpretations of infant formula advertising. Birth, 40: 115–124. doi: 10.1111/birt.12044http://jn.nutrition.org/content/131/2/409S.full