In the past, women provided childcare without being paid directly. If a woman failed to get a man (husband or lover) to provide financial support or her husband passed away, her children died as well, or they were put in an orphanage, where many of the children died anyway.  Before industrialization, women could earn some money while caring for children by knitting and spinning thread, but it was never enough. Other women attempted to earn money through prostitution which only made their situation worse and lead to more children dying in orphanages.