For the source text click/tap here: Avodah Zarah 26
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We begin with a new Mishna: Gentile women should not be midwives for Jewish women, nor should they be wet nurses for the babies of Jewish women. Jewish women can be midwives for Gentile women and Jewish women can be wet-nurses for the babies of Gentile women.
It becomes clear almost immediately through the Gemara that Gentile women are treated with suspicion. Either they will kill Jewish babies in ways that cannot be proven, or they will tell other Gentile women that they are doing so. Gentile wet-nurses might even put poison on their breasts before nursing in attempts to kill Jewish babies. This Mishna is in place to save Jewish babies from the evil that rabbis imagine is in the hearts of Gentile women.
We explore the history of Jewish midwives…