Amelia Dyer may have started her career as respectfully as a “baby farmer” could, but her care soon transformed into terror for the poor infants she took under her wing. Years passed before the so-called caregiver was finally exposed as the Ogress of Reading—by which point she had claimed a shockingly high number of young lives.

In Victorian Britain, unmarried mothers strived to stay afloat. With the passage of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, fathers of illegitimate children no longer had a financial obligation to their offspring, which left unmarried mothers struggling to find any income. It was difficult to bring up children during Victorian society; single parenthood and illegitimacy were looked down upon. This led to the practice of baby farming. While many businesses were set up to take in young women and care for them until they gave birth, some unsavory operations had other plans. There could be lucrative financial gain if the baby had well-off parents—sometimes, a newborn was sent away in secret, hiding a scandalous or unwanted pregnancy.

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However, those who desperately needed the services were primarily impoverished women. During the 19th century, adoption, foster care, and out-nursing were normal practices across England. Mothers and families paid these institutions to take in and care for their newborns. Often, this was done out of desperation; impoverished new mothers, unable to afford longterm childcare, would pay the comparatively lower charge to send away their child. Yet wealthier families also paid for other similar services. Sometimes, newborns were sent to nearby villages to be cared for in their early years, returning to the family when they were toddlers.

In a rather well known example, Jane Austen’s family was accustomed to sending their children to a “wet nurse” in a nearby village for the beginning months of an infant’s life. Jane spent a fair amount of time with her parents in the beginning, but was in the care of a nurse for the first two years of her life. These wet nurses were reputable, even a part of the family in many ways, and her mother and father visited regularly.

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Later, James Edward Austen, Jane’s nephew, would write disapprovingly of this practice though he recognized the value in the out care system. Many babies who were provided for by a credible wet nurse would survive infancy in a time when this was not typical.

But not every institution was on that level. Infants who ended up at baby farms were frequently lost in the system. Others died of neglect—or worse. Once again, working class and single mothers were most likely to fall victim to these disreputable operations. Often, they could afford no other option.

Amelia Dyer: Victorian England's Cruelest Baby Farmer

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