to ask if you would use donated breastmilk if it was available rather than formula?

[bubbleymummy]

Inspired by another thread.

I personally would rather use donated milk. If you wouldn't - why not?

I know megril. I also wonder if many people also don't see much difference between the two and so don't really see the point... Formula advertising and marketing has a lot to answer for but that's a completely different thread! :)

Carolina I know so many people like that.

Also I'd want to know exactly what crap was going into said mothers ie alcohol,cigarette smoke,trashy food,pain killers etc.I don't want my babies eating milk from a McDonalds eating mother. God knows what crap and fat could be in it.

The very short amount of bf I did I knew exactly what I ate and thus what was in my milk. I think people can get very dishonest when it comes to making money.

Caroline - there's a difference between giving modified cow's milk to a vulnerable baby instead of breastmilk, and cow's milk being part of an older child's diet.

I do get what other poster's have said about feeling a bit icky about animal milk since breastfeeding - I feel icky about drinking my own milk, so drinking the milk of some random animal is a bit nasty

I want to breastfeed so if my baby's born and I can't it'd be nice to know there was a milk bank or similar that had been properly screened etc.

On the other hand though, I worry it would make me feel even more guilty being reminded every day that I couldn't produce, while other women can feed other's babies as well as their own. Ooh, tricky.

No way.

MoonUnitAplha I also breastfed and would hate to drink my own milk but i grew up drinking cows milk and am not a veggie so have no issue with putting milk in my porridge. I can't understand why that would suddenly be abhorrent to anyone just because they breastfed

You wouldn't drink from another woman's boob, but you would drink from a cow's boob? Who knows what hormones, drugs and infections the cow might have had!

Ew. Definitely not.

"I find the idea of putting an unknown human's bodily fluids in my baby totally repellent."

oh how i laughed at this.

Carolina - breastfeeding made milk seem less like a foodstuff and more like a bodily fluid. And a bodily fluid from another species - weird. I try not to think about it too much though

Cyclebump - it is rare for women not to produce - it usually comes down to the right help an guidance so just make sure you explore all avenues for help if this is what you want to do

MilaMae, what were your reasons for refusing a blood transfusion?

Carolina, I don't think it is disgusting to think cows milk is disgusting whereas steak is ok actually.
Actually I breastfeed for 2-3 years, so I can do what the fuck I like.

Carolina, formula isn't just cow's milk though. It has lots of other additives that I personally don't feel comfortable giving to a newborn baby or my fully grown child if I'm perfectly honest but I realise that for some people there is no alternative and that is a shame. In any case, my objection isn't to dairy products in this case- just why they are considered the better option to feed a baby over human milk.

My link about contamination was in response to karma's post about formula being safer.

I find it very strange how we find drinking another animal's milk totally fine without thinking anything about how it has lived, what it has been fed, what drugs it has been given and yet we are so suspicious of human milk! If you really think about it it's quite bizarre. I'vestillgot it - if you think about latching your baby on to a cow's udder do you feel the same level of disgust?

after the aptimil/fish thread, i am glad i found out about milk donating.
I didn't think such a thing existed, but yes, i would much sooner give my baby donated (screened)milk than formula.

Whoops 'I don't think it is hypocritical to think...' Where are my glasses...

As a bm donor I would gladly use donated milk if my baby needed it and it was available to me through an approved, screening bm bank.

Though personally I think before any sort of 'bm for every baby' scheme is set up though I would prefer to have money spent on putting infrastructure and support is put in place to ensure every SCBU/poorly baby that needs donated bm can receive it.

I would also urge anyone who can donate to give it some thought, it can make all the difference. Sorry, my little public service announcement is over now

I think it should be viewed in the same way as blood donations though - done voluntarily and not paid

nickelbabe, absolutely.

No way. Sorry.

My DC are 18 & 22. Both were SMA babies.

Both are incredibly healthy and at university.....

In fact, neither of them have ever had a tummy bug, so bottle feeding can't be that bad for a baby's immune system.

How on earth would you know what crap a BM donor had been eating, drinking, smoking etc?

No.

And I find the arguments about formula odd. So - formula is apparently contaminated (even though there are almost no recorded cases of babies in the UK dying as a result), yet a woman can drink/smoke/take all manner of medications (usually against medical advice) and their breastmilk is still considered to be pure? get real.

People are so caught up in the breast is best argument that it is seen as some kind of crime to dare to suggest that any outside factor could have an impact on it.

As for the argument that cjd can only be transmitted in brain tissue, there is very little evidence to back that up. And given that you can have cjd for up to ten years before any symptoms show, it would be impossible to know if a mother was contaminated. And cjd is still such a little understood condition that I wouldn't trust that its transmition could be predicted accurately.

Milamae, it's been said a few times that it would need to work on a donation basis to avoid those types of issues.

Missy I have 3 very heathy children because they were fed formula safely and sensibly and were weaned on a healthy diet at 6 months. A baby drinking formula doesn't automatically = an unhealthy baby,there is no "despite".

Hey guys here a random thought why not focus on promoting a healthy diet for babies and toddlers????A lifelong healthy diet with exercise will do far more good for a child than 6 months of breast milk and a crappy diet.

For some reason nobody gives a shit about this and obesity rates continue to soar. Instead of setting up a bm milk bank I'd far rather money/time and debate was put into stopping babies and toddlers being fed total shite for their entire childhood as opposed to the shock horror -formula for 6 months!!!!

Moonlighalpha I dont drink milk from a cows boob. I drink pasteurised milk that is produced in a controlled environment. I eat lots of fresh but also processed food. Unless you are a strict vegan, you have no business at all pointing out that I am being in any way contradictory. If you are vegan, fair enough, then you are living your theory.

bubbleymummy same for you - if you avoid all processed, animal product foods, then you are living your theory and hats off. If not then what you are saying simply doesnt stand up.

Formula babies do thrive despite the scaremongering. In saying that I am due in 2 weeks and really hoping breastfeeding works out better for me this time. Thats not because I have an issue with formula but because i do believe mothers milk is the best there is.