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I would not give my baby anyone else's milk but I would donate my own. I'd never sell it though.

I wouldn't buy milk off CL for sure.....and damn, that is expensive!

If I had a preemie or only needed to sup a tiny bit, I would consider getting milk from a bank. My good friend offered me her stash, but since my kids are getting a lot of formula anyway, I prefer to keep the breastmilk only mine.

I would accept donor milk from a trusted source but I couldn't see myself paying for it. I would totally donate though.

isnt it illegal to sell it? and omg really lady you put it up on craigslist, can you imagine how many creeps answered that ad. lol.
no, i would just use formula unless my baby needed it for a specific reason.

Like @owlmom: if baby needed for health reasons I would use a milk bank. But I would never buy it. I would donate my own, but not sell it.

@Pitbull Mommy: there's guidelines for safe cow milk production. Someone's breastmilk isn't FDA approved (although I know there's still a risk of contamination, but I feel it is a small one)

@highwire: Yeah, but you didn't say you wouldn't give your baby some random stranger's milk, you said "someone else's". That's probably why you got that reaction.
I think people hear "I would never feed my child milk from another person!" and think "Seriously, you think it's better from a random animal than from a known and trusted human?"

Not arguing with you, just thinking about what other people like the PP were probably thinking.

@Pitbull Mommy: I completely agree with you that breastmilk is the ideal and I would do anything possible (including getting donor milk if need be) to make sure my baby got it, but I think we should be careful not to come across as hostile when we discuss it.

It's a hot button issue and it's easy to make people feel bad who perhaps couldn't produce their own breastmilk when we talk about formula so harshly. I think we should avoid formula if at all possible, but take care to be kind in the way we talk about feeding our babies to avoid turning people off entirely.

After all, honey catches more flies than vinegar.

@Arden: very nicely put.

Most moms feed their babies in the best way they can, whether it be breastmilk or formula and some spend a lot of blood sweat and tears trying to breastfeed/keep up supply etc. I completely agree we should be kind and non judgemental when discussing it.

I think that often the upsides of breast milk are listed and talked about. That makes it sound as if breast milk is this option that could "increase" IQ or "decrease" allergies, etc. However, considering that breast milk is what the baby is supposed to have, the reality of it is that formula "decreases" IQ and "increases" allergies, etc. I choose to state it in that fashion for a reason.

I am not completely unsympathetic to people who formula feed. I "made plans" when I was pregnant and quite frankly life happened and some things did not work out. I understand that breastfeeding was VERY VERY hard in the beginning. It was a 24 hour a day job and I was the only person who could do it. My nipples hurt so much I was actually jealous of dogs for having more than two (crazy postpartum thoughts haha).

I understand that the way our maternity leave (or lack thereof) in this country is absolutely pitiful and does not support breastfeeding AT ALL. I am appalled that women are still asked to "cover up" and are sometimes harassed for feeding their children.

I know that breastfeeding is not easy, is not supported, and I do not blame anyone for formula feeding. I think everyone does the best that they can do. Everyone loves their babies and wants the best for them.

I also know that the education of how good breast milk is for your baby is getting lost as the formula companies advertise and quiet the knowledge of breastfeeding mamas that has been passed along for generations. I will not contribute to that noise. I am just stating the facts and hopefully even one person will read this and rethink their choices or learn about options they didnt know about.

I wouldn't buy off of CL but if I had a preemie I'd seek out a milk bank for a while.

@pitbull mommy: In this day and age, and on this forum especially, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn't learned (ad nauseam) about the benefits of breastfeeding. The canisters of formula say "Breast milk is recommended," just in case mothers haven't gotten the message. Your comments won't make me "rethink [my] choice" to stop starving my baby because of my low supply (despite plenty of "support," expensive supplements, IBCLC visits etc.), but they will help me hang on to the mommy guilt I'm trying hard to shed.

I think the way you worded your posts was misleading. The science only demonstrates correlation between breastfeeding and positive benefits (not causation), so formula hasn't actually been shown to "lower IQ" and "cause higher levels of childhood obesity." (Even then the benefits are modest, like +8 IQ points on a 140-point scale.) Correct me if I'm wrong because I've been researching this a lot lately and would love to read the best data out there.

Breastfeeding is an amazing and wonderful thing for many reasons, but it's not a panacea and it's not for everyone. It doesn't help to have people on message boards saying that formula is "the LAST thing that we should turn to" when the truth is most formula-fed babies will turn out perfectly smart and healthy.

Accepting donated milk is 10000X different than buying it from someone because donated milk is carefully screened and pasteurized (which is why they usually require a substantial donation).

For that reason I would consider using donated milk, but I would never buy breast milk from a rando.. Who knows what they're putting in their body!? Personally, I believe that formula is always better than the possibility of contracting a horrendous disease.

I wouldn't buy it but I would definitely utilize a donor bank if i really needed to.

I would definitely NOT buy breastmilk off Craigslist but would consider donor milk from a reputable organization.

I wouldn't buy it off CL. I would get it from a trusted source, like a milk bank.

Mr. Polish and I discussed this. A friend of my suggested using donated milk. While I feel somewhat comfortable with using milk from a trusted source, Mr. P didn't, so we declined. That being said, I would never use anything from CL.

I wouldn't buy it. One of my biggest reasons (besides health benefits) for choosing to breastfeed is cause its free. If I have to pay for something I'll get formula instead of giving myself a headache from trying to find the right person to get donor milk from. I've donated my milk but I don't trust others as easily.

@Pitbull Mommy: Thanks for the info. I guess that would make me nervous though- there is no formal screening process, right? So I'd have to pool extra milk from a bunch of different women, and have no real way to make sure that milk is safe. I understand the intention is good, but practically, it's just concerning to me, and in the end, more concerning than giving my kids formula. Maybe that's naive. I guess part of the equation is getting better information and science out there about donating and screening donor breast milk.