To breast feed a friends baby if she was busy?

[narkymum]

just read a piece about it in closer. There is a programe about it on 9th sept c4 10pm.

[Oliveoil]

iirc Kate G is breastfeeding at 2 (I may be wrong) so I don't think the programme is anti breastfeeding

I wouldn't want to feed another persons baby and nor would I want my child fed by anyone else

to me it is a close bonding thing between mother and child

[Oliveoil]

there is somone on MN who b/f a friends baby when the friend was in a car crash and in hospital iirc

[TheFallenMadonna]

Then my ds got a lot of pus-y milk because I regularly got mastitis and fed through it. And I didn't even pool it with 'clean' milk. Ewwwwww

[fruitstick]

I think giving a baby another woman's expressed breastmilk is fine although I wouldn't be happy about another woman breastfeeding my child. It's not about it being repugnant or ewww, but one of the main reasons for breastfeeding (other than the ear infection thing) is the bonding and I wouldn't want another woman replicating that.

However, in an emergency (accident, sudden illness) I would be happy for a friend to step in and would do the same for them.

[branflake81]

I would be absolutely fine with someone else BFing my own child, it's just milk after all.

[Oliveoil]

in an accident or an emergency you could use formula though couldn't you? you don't have to breastfeed unless you were stuck in a mine without access to Boots

but that depends on your view of formula and that is a whole other thread

in the recent earthquakes in China I think there was a policewoman who breastfed orphaned children until they could be rescued from an area which has hard to get to

[fruitstick]

Also it's not the contents of the programme that make it anti-breastfeeding (quite the opposite) but it inflames the 'you're hippie all freaks' mentality which is so common.

The extended breastfeeding programme was on five when I was feeding DS1 and I must have been asked dozens of times 'will you still be doing it when he's 5?'

[belgo]

I've seen a child accidently drink the expressed breast milk from another mother - the bottle had been left briefly on the floor and the crawling child picked it up and took a swig before anyone could stop him. The child's mother didn't notice.

I wonder how many times this has happened without us realising?

[HonoriaGlossop]

don't find this odd or weird, if the women agree - lovely. Just as I don't find giving cows milk in the form of formula milk weird; cows milk is a good healthy food for human beings. and no, I don't mean it's as good as breastmilk. Just that I don't find it weird.

[HonoriaGlossop]

after all through the ages countless children were brought up on the milk of women other than their mother - wet nurses etc

[chipmonkey]

My ds3 would not take a bottle and I was very housebound as a result. What I didn't know was that around the same time, my cousin was having terrible difficulty feeing her newborn ds who was very ill in intensive care. She was having difficulty maintaining supply because her ds couldn't suck so she was exclusively expressing. Hospital staff suggested that she should get her dd to suckle but her dd was 2, had not been bf since she was tiny. Had I know this I could have handed ds3 over to her, I might have been able to get out of the house and she might have been able to boost her supply.

[CatIsSleepy]

link to kate garraway interview from saturday's guardian

[Slouchy]

I would HAPPILY breastfeed my neice if something prevented my sister from doing so. It would have to be a fair period of time though as I haven't bf'ed for 3 years and it would take a lot to re-establish it. But if my sis (assuming she could communicate) and bil wanted it, I would give it a go.

Ditto if I had been unable to feed my dd's due to emergency I would have been ok with someone else (whom I knew and trusted) doing it. Better than letting them starve (which would have happened for dd2, she wouldn't take a bottle at all)

Can't see why it is considered so odd myself.

[Tittybangbang]

G2B You'd rather your baby had soya milk than human milk?

"I could not have another woman bf my baby"

Even if it was much healthier for your baby?

[juuule]

Only if the friend had okayed it.

[Ashantai]

Sorry its a bit like the scene in "the hand that rocks the cradle".

My gut reaction to this thread title was ewwwww, but reading through some of the replies i guess it would be ok in some circumstances.

[WorzselMummage]

My Daughter had donated expressed breast milk for a month when she was in scbu due to being premature.

It did make me feel strange to begin with, i think we all like to believe that we, as mothers, are all our babies need but all they really need is nourishment and the best thing for a premature baby is breastmilk, it doesnt matter where it comes from.

It makes perfect sense to me !

I am eternally gratefull to the women who donated their milk so dd didnt have to have formla.

[G2B]

G2B- I'm sorry but I don't think FF is as bad as everyone makes out, particularly as I can't bf myself (although I intend to try again next time) so it doesn't seem so horrendous to me to put them on formula. I simply could not have another woman bf my child. It's too close. It's mother and baby bonding, and I believe a person's breast milk is designed for their baby, not another baby.

I could not get my head around it, and ff is fine for my baby.

[TheProvincialLady]

My aunt breastfed her nephew, my cousin, because my other aunt was having difficulties with her supply and with mastitis. Both happy with the arrangement. I would be happy too.

How about this for an idea - breastfeed another child if you want to and if the mother wants you to, otherwise don't. Ta dah! No need for eewing.

[DaphneMoon]

Don't like the idea myself. But that is where the term "wet nurse" comes from. In olden days, nurses who were still producing milk were employed by the rich to breastfeed their babies.

These days it is not necessary and how would you know if the mum was on medication or something. Would only breastfeed another baby if I was on a desert island and it was a matter of life or death!

[G2B]

Lol I put 'G2B' I meant 'Titty'. Talking to myself as usual hehe.

[andiem]

I would definitely do it for one of my close friends if they couldn't in an emergency
there have been some grandmothers who have relactated when their daughters have died

[G2B]

P.s- entirely different in the case of a prem baby as often it's literally life and death and so breast milk is much more important. I would be uncomfortable but would lump it.

[gagamama]

I wouldn't like someone else to breast feed my baby, personally, unless in a dire situation and I knew her very well. You don't know if she's been drinking or taking drugs or whether her milk is sub-optimal. IMO that also makes it different to cows' milk - you know a cow is being fed a diet optimal for milk-production and (with organic milk, anyway) there's no hidden nasties getting passed on to the drinker.

[zoo123]

Problem with breastfeeding another woman's child is the risk of transfer of infection eg HIV in addition to bondy issues. Some women might be fine with another woman breastfeeding their child to avoid giving formula but I wouldn't. Way back in this thread someone said they had met an elderly couple having difficulty getting a child to take a bottle and she now wishes she'd offered to breast feed the child. Quite frankly I find it unbelievable that someone would seriously consider this without the express consent of the baby's mother however well intentioned. If a babysitter gave my child to a random stranger to bf I'd be out of my mind with anger and worry, I just don't htink it's appropriate. If a baby won't take a bottle then IMHO it's own mother should stay and look after it rather than handing it over to babysitters. If it was essential for her to go out for a few hours then it won't die in that short period.

Breastmilk for babies in special care is a rather different issue. They receive DEBM because it offers special protection against a life-threatening medical condition. All donors are screened for HIV and written consent is always given before it is given.