Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Would you sell breast milk?

53 replies

Flum · 16/11/2004 12:14

Considering the recent threads and it seems to be agreed that breast milk might be slightly better for babies.

Would you sell your breast milk?

Bottle feeding mums, would you buy it?

OP posts:
Gobbledigook · 16/11/2004 12:15

No I bloody wouldn't!!

There's nothing wrong with cow and gate

Gobbledigook · 16/11/2004 12:15

Buy it I mean - I'm a bottle feeder and quite happy with it thank you!

Original poster
Flum · 16/11/2004 12:16

I know that. I just thought it was an interesting question and perhaps a fantastic business idea.

OP posts:
Original poster
Flum · 16/11/2004 12:17

What if it was exactly the same price?

Mind you, how would you know it didn't come from a beer swilling summit or other........

OP posts:
joanneg · 16/11/2004 12:17

Just like people are saying that they dont trust the integrity (sp?) of formular - I would feel the same about breast milk. You wouldnt know who it came from, what medication they were on, what they were eating and so on. I am not sure that it would be any better than formular

MummyToSteven · 16/11/2004 12:18

if there was adequate testing/health precautions, probably yes.

there was a magazine story several months back about a Scandinavian mum who produced absolutely tons of milk (expressed 2 litres a day!) and sold it to the local SCBU. Over the course of a year she had enough money to get a new car!

Original poster
Flum · 16/11/2004 12:20

I mean really its just a modern form of wetnursing.

OP posts:
Poo2 · 16/11/2004 12:21

Some hospital have a milk donation thing for intensive care babies I think. I assume the donating mother is closely screened etc. Think it is a lovely idea, but wouldn't give it to my baby unless in SCUBU. Ik.

Original poster
Flum · 16/11/2004 12:22

And for that matter. What do cows eat? used to be grass but they give them a kind of meat mixture now don't they?

OP posts:
Gobbledigook · 16/11/2004 12:24

It is but no thanks!

My friend breastfed for 6 months (incidentally, in a bid to avoid eczema - it didn't work) and she could barely eat anything without it upsetting her baby! At least formula is the same constitution all the time but buying breastmilk - it's just going to vary so much and like others have said, how do you KNOW for certain someones not a smoker or takes drugs or drinks excessively.

joanneg · 16/11/2004 12:26

I would rather take my chances on daisy the cow thanks!

joanneg · 16/11/2004 12:26

seriously though - if it was somebody I knew and I knew well I would consider it. BUt not to buy in a supermarket

hana · 16/11/2004 12:26

nope. wouldn't sell my milk or buy it. Some hospitals have a milk donation programme and I've considered donating to that (our local hospital does and I had lots of milk!) but to go down the route of selling.....
also think it's awful that men can sell their sperm or people can sell their blood
not very altruistic

Gobbledigook · 16/11/2004 12:27

People can sell their blood??

MummyToSteven · 16/11/2004 12:28

don't think they can in UK??? are you posting from UK Hana??

Original poster
Flum · 16/11/2004 12:31

Well they do say that no persons action is truly altruistic but thats a whole other thread.

If that were the argument why don't SMA and the others give milk away

But it would help both sides. Ideal way to earn a little extra money and still stay at home with kids. That could be a real help to people on low incomes.

OP posts:
hana · 16/11/2004 12:32

yes am in the UK, I think you can sell your blood in the US ( someone will corrent me I'm sure) I donated blood up until I moved over here from Canada 8 years ago, have done a few times over here but not as often as I think I should. Those commercials on TV always get to me and I think ' oh need to get to a blood clininc...' but never seem to

hana · 16/11/2004 12:32

yes am in the UK, I think you can sell your blood in the US ( someone will corrent me I'm sure) I donated blood up until I moved over here from Canada 8 years ago, have done a few times over here but not as often as I think I should. Those commercials on TV always get to me and I think ' oh need to get to a blood clininc...' but never seem to

hana · 16/11/2004 12:33

oops

Original poster
Flum · 16/11/2004 12:44

Ok what if: It was collected by reputable medical company, screened, powdered, sold in chemists in a pack containing full info of contents etc.

The more I think about it the more Ithink it could work. There are many breast feeding mothers around the world living in poverty if they could be screened for illness etc and there milk collected and paid for.

Oh I dunno, that strikes a bit of poor people selling their kidneys coz they are desperate. But then it is painless.

OP posts:
hunkermunker · 16/11/2004 12:47

I think that powdering breastmilk would negate a lot of the benefits of it, rather like processing food often does. I've read it's best not to be heated in a microwave or frozen as this can kill some of the antibodies in it. But I do freeze my milk for DS.

Plus with my peculiar feelings about powdered milk, even powdered breastmilk makes me queasy...!

hunkermunker · 16/11/2004 12:48

Plus they wouldn't be able to put a full list of contents as it varies from feed to feed and mother to mother.

Original poster
Flum · 16/11/2004 12:50

If that is the case Hunkermunker and I don't dispute it, isn't it also likely that cowsmilk varies from feed to feed, day to day too?

OP posts:
Original poster
Flum · 16/11/2004 12:50

and cow to cow.

OP posts:
hunkermunker · 16/11/2004 12:51

I'd not thought of that. Yes, it probably does. I have no idea how I'd be able to find out for sure though!