I have donated breast milk and my lo also got Human Milk Fortifier that is made from milk bank milk while he was in the NICU. I thought this article was really interesting.
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Very interesting especially the last part. Who really knows if it is even BM?
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very interesting read, thanks for sharing.
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I thought that the last line about cow milk or formula, while perhaps technically true, was just pure sensationalism. Unless the article is inaccurate, the study doesn't say that any of the samples weren't breast milk.
The article got me thinking though about all the pitfalls for offering breast milk for profit. Overall though, I think it's disappointing that this is the kind of major press milk sharing is getting, because the study doesn't seem that comprehensive. While I'm not sure what I would do if faced with a decision about using donor milk for my child, I do think it should be an option.
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I would never feed my kid someone else's breastmilk. Period.
I think it's a valid point though. Lots of toxins are passed in breastmilk and with it being unregulated, who knows what in it?
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@Revel: I agree with everything you've said. And there aren't saying it shouldn't be an option either. But I think it's definitely important to learn something about the source of the milk. It's likely that most of the contaminants are already in our milk and are not a part of the handling process etc.
I do think the for profit industry serves an important purpose though too. They just need to figure out a way to get the price down which they aren't really need to be motivated to do since the medical industry will pay the high costs.
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@loveisstrange: I completely agree regarding the unregulated nature, which is why I would have a hard time using donor milk myself. I hate purchasing something as simple as furniture on craigslist, so it would be hard to be comfortable with a process like that for food for my baby. I think meeting the mom or having some communication with her would help.
@Mrs Green Grass: Yeah, I didn't realize that donated milk was typically reserved for premature infants by prescription, and that need outpaced demand. It seems like with enough interest there could be some middle ground of a regulated for-profit marketplace.
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I read the original article that the story was based on. Milk banks pasturize the milk, so they aren't a concern... and while I'd be dis-inclined to use milk I found on Craigslist, if I had a close relationship with a friend who had extra, I don't think I'd hesitate.
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I've donated about 500 ounces of milk now through Human Milk for Human Babies... And my takeaway after reading this article is that I'm donating the exact same milk, stored by the same methods, that I feed my own baby because I'm an exclusive pumper.
So, I'm a little wary of the study that only used the for-profit website, since those people may be more motivated by the money and may do more unsafe things? Who knows.
In my case, I gave to the same girl both times and she lives about 4 blocks from my house so I feel like it was all pretty safe, in terms of storage, handling , and transfer.
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I think it's sad that parents who don't breastfeed themselves, for whatever reason, feel the need to do this so much that these kinds of websites (for profit, unregulated) are existing and thriving. I was one of them, but decided to just stick with formula.
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