Selling Breast Milk? - East Northport,NY

Until recently, I used to be a donor to a milk bank (Helping Hands Milk Bank), but have not heard of selling it.

I've donated milk, both through a HMBANA milk bank and privately, but I would have no issue with selling my excess milk if the opportunity presented itself. It costs me my time and effort to pump and maintain my supply, and if the financial reward made it worth my effort, I'd do it, just like any other job.

Heck, I sold my plasma back in the day, and I wouldn't see this as any different. And I would expect to be tested and tracked in a similar fashion, as well.

Yes there's a market for breast milk.
It's been around for awhile.
Before formula, there were wet nurses - lactating women who fed other babies beside their own.
We're use to the concept of drinking milk from other mammals - cows, goats, sheep being the most popular (there are others) (kind of gross if you think about it but it's helped us grow and survive as a species - we're truly opportunistic omnivores - people can and do eat practically everything) but human milk is meant for human babies.

http://www.onlythebreast.com

It was an option we looked into when we found out I was not producing enough and was part of the 5% that would never produce enough and that my son had reflux. Formula supplementation worked for us, but if it did not then that was an option.

I see it in a similar light as to having a "Wet Nurse" a few hundred years ago.

There are laws, rules etc. regarding it, it's very difficult to become approved from my understanding and research on the topic, but that was 6 years ago, I am sure things have changed slightly.

I look at this the same as blood donation. I would use breast milk from another woman if it was the only way to save my baby's life. However, I would use formula first. There are HUGE risks with taking in someone else's fluids and they are not risks I would be willing to take unless my child's life were in jeopardy.

I question quality control, also. You just never know unless the sellers go through strict screening processes. Even then I wouldn't trust it. Maybe I'm just over the top on this subject due to my son's food allergies when he was a baby. The seller would have had to gone on a pretty strict elimination diet. I don't know many people that would go through this. And if they did, the cost would be astronomical, I'm sure.

I have heard of donating it (to sick/preemie babies) but not selling it. Can you quote your source? I'm just wondering how reliable it is.

Initially, I think that I'd prefer generic formula to milk from someone else's body, formulated for HER baby in THEIR environment (not to mention not being able to control her diet and other intake). I certainly wouldn't want multiple donors. I would need to see some science to believe that it would actually be better. Then again, I have not been in a position to have to consider that option. I think about Salma Hayek breastfeeding that baby in need, and I love that story. If I could afford to spend $4 per ounce, then only known major health problems/benefits would lead me to go that route.

ETA: "Wet nursing" was different in multiple ways, one being that the "nursers" lived in the same environment as the babies, so they ate from the same crops and had the same allergies, etc. That would be one concern for me dealing with shipping milk between regions.

Sharing milk is a time-honored practice. My first husband's mother (middle-eastern) was a wet nurse for two babies whose mothers couldn't nurse them. It was common then in that culture, and possibly still is. I"ve known of a couple of U.S. moms who donated milk for babies who needed it for one reason or another.

Our children (and often we, too) drink milk from cows, ladies! And cheese from goats, sheep, and black-footed ferrets (that's just to see if you're still reading. I won't even mention where eggs come from.) :-D

I would only do it if there was some kind of testing and regulation in place.

I've heard of this. Like the restaurant chef who sold cheese made from his wife's milk (see article in link):

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/03/09/breast-m...

After having my daughter, I over-pumped and ended up with about 800oz stored in my freezer (and I bf her for 14 months)! I ended up researching milk banks and ended up donating to the Mother's Milk Bank of Texas. They do health screening and homogenize the milk before providing it (as prescribed by doctor) to babies in need--usually premies or babies in the NICU--where the mom can't bf for some reason or another. Since I was bf my daughter, I was mostly eating healthy and avoiding high-allergen foods and when you have a baby who needs every bit of help--I think using donor milk is wonderful! There was another company I researched where they paid for the milk, but they ended up making a sort of powdered formula and shipping it off to third world countries... eh, I'd rather keep it "local."

I used donated milk for my son in the hospital when he was born. I barely even made any colostrum, so I knew I wouldn't make enough milk for him. But, the hospital did switch him to formula the last day and a half we were there so that he could get used to it. I would have kept doing the milk, but he turned out to be allergic to it because of soy and dairy in my diet and the donater's as well. If I had a preemie who needed it then I would track it down until I found it, but formula does work too. The hospital told me that it went through a lot of testing to make sure it was safe.

I wouldn't buy breast milk from a total stranger from something like a Craigslist ad. Too many variables that could go wrong. If I needed it I would absolutely consider a reputable breast milk bank or donations from someone I knew and trusted.
I think it's wonderful to have breast milk banks and the donors that contribute to them! It is a good thing that we have formula to feed babies that can not get breast milk for some reason but I do not believe it should be a first choice nor the only choice. Human milk is perfect for human babies.
I have a friend that donated her breast milk to a women after she lost her own child due to delivery complications. It was a one on one donation between 2 people that had the trust needed to do so.
I also have a family member that donated a huge amount of milk she pumped while her child was in the NICU. She produced far more than her child needed so she gave it to a milk bank so another child could benefit from it. She had to go through a screening process and the milk was checked and such before it was used by anyone else.
I wish it was easier to get for babies in need!