Breast milk Donors

[LilPima]

I just found out today that breast milk is a commodity that can be donated and bought... has anyone else ever heard of this? I knew about Salma Hayek feeding the hungry, but this is much larger scale than I had ever imagined...Link to just one of many sites

My mind is officially boggled for the day. This all came about at work, of all places.

Comment.

 

[waggy]

yeap. when my wife was breastfeading she got something about it.

 

[OCGuy]

:music: The best part of wakin' up
is breast milk on your Reese's puffs :music:

 

[vi edit]

Milkin Mamas.com (Don't go there at work!) is a big resource for it. A good friend of ours used a local "milk bank" when they had twins and she couldn't produce enough for both of them.

Oddly enough their insurance paid for it.

Personally...the thought of it gives me a bit of the creeps not really knowing any of the screening methods(if any) and what sort of things the "donor" could be passing on.

The Selma Hayak incident didn't bother me much since it's "supplier direct" rather than a random bag in a refriderator.

 

[SilentZero]

My wife is Cambodian and they have the most expensive breast milk (according to dave chappelle)!!!! I've been trying to get her to sell it for years but every time I try I end up getting kicked.

 

[RaistlinZ]

Can any Joe Shmuck order this or do you have to be a nursing mother?

 

[Mo0o]

Seems like a good idea. Human milk is recommended for at least teh first 6 months.

 

[nakedfrog]

So you think nothing of feeding kids cow milk, but human milk is icky?

 

[sswingle]

Originally posted by: vi edit
Milkin Mamas.com (Don't go there at work!) is a big resource for it. A good friend of ours used a local "milk bank" when they had twins and she couldn't produce enough for both of them.

Oddly enough their insurance paid for it.

Personally...the thought of it gives me a bit of the creeps not really knowing any of the screening methods(if any) and what sort of things the "donor" could be passing on.

The Selma Hayak incident didn't bother me much since it's "supplier direct" rather than a random bag in a refriderator.

No pictures of the donors? Fail.

 

[dennilfloss]

Reminds me of the Friends episode about breast milk.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
So you think nothing of feeding kids cow milk, but human milk is icky?

I would question the screening methods. Is human milk as highly regulated as cow milk is? I know a few dairy farmers. If there's one little goof in their barn, and a cow that's on antibiotics gives milk that's added to the tank, and it goes into the tank truck, then they just bought the entire compartment in the truck. Sometimes, if they're at the end of a run, their tank in the barn is split over several or all (4?) of the compartments in the tanker. If that's the case, they bought the entire truckload of milk after it's tested. MAJOR $$$ if they screw up, so they're rather paranoid & extra cautious.

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
So you think nothing of feeding kids cow milk, but human milk is icky?

ZOMG cannibalism!

 

[Hacp]

Pics of the donors?

 

[Freshgeardude]

from that milkin mamas


NSFW!!!NSFW!!!The kid learns at a young age to love them
NSFW!!!NSFW!!!

 

[boomerang]

Who was it that wanted Ben & Jerry's to use human breast milk to make their ice cream? PETA?

 

[Riceninja]

Originally posted by: SilentZero
My wife is Cambodian and they have the most expensive breast milk (according to dave chappelle)!!!! I've been trying to get her to sell it for years but every time I try I end up getting kicked.

how does this work? cambodians have no breasts

 

[Paperdoc]

A perfectly logical and valid system. ALL infants should have NOTHING BUT BREAST MILK for the first six months of life. After that, other foods are introduced slowly while keeping up nursing as long as the child wants. Throughout this time the mother and baby may encounter a few problems, but by far most of them can be handled well with good advice and practices. The best source for this is La Leche League, established originally in Chicago and now with local Leaders throughout the world, and certainly available in most US and Canadian centers. But occasionally there are severe short-term problems that make it necessary to suspend the nursing relationship. In those cases, the alternative of switching to cow's milk (and no, goat's milk or soy products are no better!) is a very poor one. Human milk from one of these organizations is a much better choice. Even better is the possibility of having a friend who is also nursing her child take over for the short time that the ill mother is incapacitated. One of the trickiest parts of this is that, in some cases (say, a mother injured severely in an auto accident) there is no warning and VERY little time to make the alternative arrangement.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: Paperdoc
A perfectly logical and valid system. ALL infants should have NOTHING BUT BREAST MILK for the first six months of life. After that, other foods are introduced slowly while keeping up nursing as long as the child wants. Throughout this time the mother and baby may encounter a few problems, but by far most of them can be handled well with good advice and practices. The best source for this is La Leche League, established originally in Chicago and now with local Leaders throughout the world, and certainly available in most US and Canadian centers. But occasionally there are severe short-term problems that make it necessary to suspend the nursing relationship. In those cases, the alternative of switching to cow's milk (and no, goat's milk or soy products are no better!) is a very poor one. Human milk from one of these organizations is a much better choice. Even better is the possibility of having a friend who is also nursing her child take over for the short time that the ill mother is incapacitated. One of the trickiest parts of this is that, in some cases (say, a mother injured severely in an auto accident) there is no warning and VERY little time to make the alternative arrangement.

While breast feeding is ideal, formula is a fine substitute if breast feeding is not possible. There are many babies fed formula exclusively in the first year of their lives who grow up just fine.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: MrChad


While breast feeding is ideal, formula is a fine substitute if breast feeding is not possible. There are many babies fed formula exclusively in the first year of their lives who grow up just fine.

Using formula is sub-optimal. There's people who never spent a day in school their whole lives, but turned out fine; That doesn't mean it's the best course of action.

 

[Double Trouble]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: Paperdoc
A perfectly logical and valid system. ALL infants should have NOTHING BUT BREAST MILK for the first six months of life. After that, other foods are introduced slowly while keeping up nursing as long as the child wants. Throughout this time the mother and baby may encounter a few problems, but by far most of them can be handled well with good advice and practices. The best source for this is La Leche League, established originally in Chicago and now with local Leaders throughout the world, and certainly available in most US and Canadian centers. But occasionally there are severe short-term problems that make it necessary to suspend the nursing relationship. In those cases, the alternative of switching to cow's milk (and no, goat's milk or soy products are no better!) is a very poor one. Human milk from one of these organizations is a much better choice. Even better is the possibility of having a friend who is also nursing her child take over for the short time that the ill mother is incapacitated. One of the trickiest parts of this is that, in some cases (say, a mother injured severely in an auto accident) there is no warning and VERY little time to make the alternative arrangement.

While breast feeding is ideal, formula is a fine substitute if breast feeding is not possible. There are many babies fed formula exclusively in the first year of their lives who grow up just fine.

Agreed. It is a fine substitute, but it's also inferior to the real thing. Numerous studies have shown extensive benefits for both mother and child of breastfeeding, but even absent such studies, it just makes sense that the breastmilk is finely tuned to be the perfect food for an infant.

 

[Gibsons]

It's not just for infants, there are some rare immune deficiencies which can be treated with breast milk.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: MrChad
While breast feeding is ideal, formula is a fine substitute if breast feeding is not possible. There are many babies fed formula exclusively in the first year of their lives who grow up just fine.

Using formula is sub-optimal. There's people who never spent a day in school their whole lives, but turned out fine; That doesn't mean it's the best course of action.

I'm not debating that, but there are people who act like feeding your infant formula is equivalent to giving them arsenic.

 

[manlymatt83]

Originally posted by: LilPima
I just found out today that breast milk is a commodity that can be donated and bought... has anyone else ever heard of this? I knew about Salma Hayek feeding the hungry, but this is much larger scale than I had ever imagined...Link to just one of many sites

My mind is officially boggled for the day. This all came about at work, of all places.

Comment.

Comment? OK. Newark Train Station Sucks.

 

[manlymatt83]

Doesn't a girl only produce milk after she has a babay?

 

[Double Trouble]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: MrChad
While breast feeding is ideal, formula is a fine substitute if breast feeding is not possible. There are many babies fed formula exclusively in the first year of their lives who grow up just fine.

Using formula is sub-optimal. There's people who never spent a day in school their whole lives, but turned out fine; That doesn't mean it's the best course of action.

I'm not debating that, but there are people who act like feeding your infant formula is equivalent to giving them arsenic.

Yeah, there's definitely some zealotry on both sides of this issue. I think a lot of it stems from guilt. Women who don't or can't breast feed want to feel re-assured that they didn't harm the child, so they take the position that formula is pretty much as good and breastfeeding is not a big deal. Those who do breastfeed want to feel validation that they are doing the best thing possible for their child, so some of them act like formula is akin to feeding the child antifreeze.