The subject of donor milk came up on a listserve for lactation professionals and it prompted me to dig out this old post, from 2011.
Got Breast Milk?
A
recent discussion about donor milk
got me pretty fired up this week. I applaud BWH for their use of donor milk,
but I have some reservations about informal milk sharing. I wish the Globe
article had mentioned the concerns around milk sharing and sites such as Eats
on Feets (an online “bulletin board” for breast milk). Now, don’t get me wrong,
I am a fierce proponent of breastfeeding - perhaps even a (gasp!) “Lactivist”,
but trading breast milk via Craigslist is a little creepy. How do you know what
that Mom is doing in her spare time? A couple of gin and tonics before dinner?
A few tokes to relax? There are also viruses that can be transmitted via breast
milk. HIV is the most obvious, but there is also CMV, a potentially lethal
illness that can have few if any, symptoms. Proponents of human milk sharing
say that human milk is best for babies, no matter where it comes from. There
have been numerous formula recalls and I have yet to hear about a breast milk
recall. However, there is a better solution: banked donor milk. I have
volunteered with the Mother’s Milk Bank of New England and I can tell you that
these folks are working tirelessly to provide a safe and viable alternative to
formula for babies who cannot get their mother’s own milk. I’m afraid that these informal milk sharers
are sending the message that donor milk is too difficult and/or expensive to
obtain. This is just not the truth. Most milk banks will not turn a mother away
for inability to pay and in some cases, insurance will cover the cost. Lactation professionals and breastfeeding
allies need to
educate and support mothers to nurse. When that is not possible, we can
confidently encourage the next best option, banked donor milk.
