FDA Raises Breastmilk Sharing Concerns...

[Kathi OD]

Does anyone else find it more than just a little that the FDA has to tell mothers that sharing breastmilk that has not been screened probably isn't a good idea?

We buy lots of things from unknown persons on the internet, but breastmilk that you are going to feed your child?

I KNOW that breastmilk is best for babies. I really do. Maybe I'm just old...but somehow breastmilk from someone on the internet, from a source that you really have no clue about, doesn't seem like an practical or even smart alternative to formula to me.


http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpps/new...k-sharing-concerns-dpgoh-20101214-fc_11068871

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

I agree - sounds creepy. Sharing breast milk has been a pretty standard practice throughout time, but it usually happens through the use of a wet nurse with whom the family has some sort of relationship.

 

[jen0610]

I agree - sounds creepy. Sharing breast milk has been a pretty standard practice throughout time, but it usually happens through the use of a wet nurse with whom the family has some sort of relationship.

The whole concept of wet nurse I can understand, but the buying milk from an unknown source.... for me that would never happen. To many unknowns.

 

[Deb in IA]

An alternative is a milk bank, where the donor mothers are carefully screened including blood testing, and have to follow strict guidelines (non-smoking, no alcohol 12 hours before pumping, no medications, etc) and the milk is pasteurized and tested for bacteria.

 

[Bilberry]

I initially thought it odd also, sharing human breast milk, but had a chuckle after reading Dr Briffa's article on the FDA's stance.

"FDA discourages women from sharing breast milk (though freeze-dried, highly processed cow’s milk is fine)"

http://www.drbriffa.com/2010/12/03/...eze-dried-highly-processed-cows-milk-is-fine/

 

[PrincessKsMom]

I don't see how people think this is a good idea? It would be like buying blood online. Can't you get just about any disease from breastmilk that you could through blood?

 

[jen0610]

An alternative is a milk bank, where the donor mothers are carefully screened including blood testing, and have to follow strict guidelines (non-smoking, no alcohol 12 hours before pumping, no medications, etc) and the milk is pasteurized and tested for bacteria.

This, like the wet nurse, doesn't raise red warning flags to run the other way with me.

 

[Belle0101]

Buying from an unknown and unscreened source = IMO.

Putting the diseases aside, you don't know what the mother has consumed that would affect her milk. I only mention that because today I volunteered in a nursery and a mom was there with her 3 week old that she breastfeeds. She mentioned that she didn't know that what she ate or drink could pass through to her milk.

Anyhow she said that a few days ago she had cravings for soda, cakes (like Little Debbies and Twinkies) and chocolate. It sounded like she gorged on them one afternoon. That evening her baby was cranky and fussy and gassy after her feeding and couldn't understand why until a friend told her that her diet affects her milk. She has 5 other children and she breastfed them too so I would have thought she would have known that well before now.

A wet nurse or a screened source I'd be okay with but some random person selling breastmilk on ebay, not so much. How would one even know for sure it was breastmilk?

 

[Colleen27]

It seems pretty common sense to me not to source anything I intend to feed my children from an anonymous, unscreened, unaccountable source off the internet. Who knows what you might get?

I love the idea of breastmilk banks, which do screen donors and donations and enforce appropriate safety measures, and I can completely understand the idea of a wet nurse even though it is uncommon/impractical in our culture. But to buy breastmilk online? Ewww!

 

[LuvOrlando]

Yikes! When I was pregnant I watched everything I put into my mouth and it was a royal pain, but one I endured because I knew my babies needed me to do the best I could. I have also watched way too many supposedly educated women eat, drink & take things without any understanding of what it could mean for a baby. The number of people who told me to go ahead and drink when I was pregnant was alarming and then there was the Dr who insisted trying Prozac for my migraines while pregnant was a good idea (I refused). Now add all that to the fact that people will lie for money and the whole issue gets scary.

I'm all for breast feeding but if a woman can't do it herself, this is not a safe alternative. The lactating mother could have consumed drugs or be suffering from some kind of infection, or the milk could have gone bad, or not even be human at all. The whole thing has bad idea written all over it.

 

[tvguy]

I understand the emotional and physical benefits of a mother breastfeeding HER child. But wasn't formula developed for times when a mother couldn't breastfeed her child?

 

[Kathi OD]

An alternative is a milk bank, where the donor mothers are carefully screened including blood testing, and have to follow strict guidelines (non-smoking, no alcohol 12 hours before pumping, no medications, etc) and the milk is pasteurized and tested for bacteria.

This I don't have a problem with. There is some kind of attention to safety of the milk being shared. But it seems as though the FDA are targeting the sharing between mothers where there is no oversight.

How would you even contact someone who has breastmilk to share outside of a milk bank? eBay? Amazon?

 

[Sarah_Rose]

How would you even contact someone who has breastmilk to share outside of a milk bank? eBay? Amazon?

I have been looking into milk donation the last few weeks - I have a 4 month old and I pump at least once a day, but my baby won't drink from a bottle, so my freezer is just filling up with breastmilk. There are many websites and even facebook groups dedicated to linking up mothers who have breastmilk with mothers who need breastmilk.

Personally, I was not comfortable going that way (although I did donate a few frozen bags of milk to my best friend who gave birth to a tiny little girl (5 lbs 2 oz, born at 39 weeks... she dropped down to 4.5 lbs at her smallest) in late October and then had bad milk supply problems for the first few weeks) and I decided to go through a milk bank. I have a mobile blood testing company coming to draw blood this week to test for diseases, and I have to send in DNA tests so that they can match all of my pumped milk to me. I also have to separate out any milk pumped within 24 hours of taking any medications, including Tylenol and Advil.

The idea of buying/sharing milk on the internet with strangers still creeps me out, but I am happy that I can donate my extra milk to people who can use it!