Breast Milk As A Commodity

[Lightworker]

Hi all. Was reading an article about how if women in developing countries could sell their breastmilk which is now being termed "liquid gold", it would be a huge leap forward towards eradicating poverty. A lady in the US sold hers earning about $2000/month. What do you think? If you couldn't BF, would you buy it? Do you think it is ethical? What advantages and disadvantages do you envisage? All this on the assumption that it would be tightly regulated re quality. X

 

[Lightworker]

PS - just thought to add, I notice alot of people use the phrase "third world" which is quite a derogatory term so was hoping people could use the more PC term "developing countries" x

 

[lesleyann]

I would not buy it however if it was fully screened for things such as HIV i believe people would.. However is there not a HUGE amount of HIV etc in these places making their breaskmilk non-useable ?

 

[Nibblenic]

I wouldnt buy it as I wouldnt trust the screen process with regaurds to HIV etc.

That isnt just about breast milk though, I would only except other peoples blood if it was a matter of life and death. Which I suppose I would accept milk from any source as well if it was life and death of my child, but thats not the point your making.

So bascially no I would not be happy with screeningnomtter how good. Im quite happy to use formula.

 

[smokey]

Its not so much the selling of it for others to feed their baby that bothers me,
Its selling it to silly things like breastmilk icecream makers that annoys me.
Sadly if you want to encourage more to donate milk to help others you have to offer an incentive to do so as too few donate out of compasion.
My concern with the idea of money being exchanged for breast milk is the possiblity of more people ending up thinking its an alternative to doing it themselves ie "I cant be bothered so ill just buy it".
And yes there are plently of rich people out there that would probably do that so it would end up compramising the original idea of it going to someone genuinly more in need of it.
Sadly I think it would also run a risk of people who are desperate for money underfeeding their own child so they can sell it.

 

[Lightworker]

What if the milk was screened at point of collection and at the destination where people feel that the screening would be more reliable? Would that change your view?

 

[lesleyann]

What if the milk was screened at point of collection and at the destination where people feel that the screening would be more reliable? Would that change your view?

wouldnt that mean defrosting the milk to test again then rendering it needing to be used ASAP? to be honest as harsh and nasty as it sound i dont think i would trust/use milk from a "developing country" as these are some of the most corrupt places known and no doubt the milk would "pass" their screening

 

[Lightworker]

Smokey- I totally see what you mean about the potential for moms to sacrifice themselves/their children's health in order to earn more. The article I was reading was leaning more towards BM being the subject of trade agreements, just as you would sell bananas etc. So not donating out of compassion really more as a legitimate source of income.

 

[freckleonear]

I don't agree with the sale of breastmilk for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it discourages women from donating their precious milk to milk banks. Breastmilk is so important for premature and sick babies, it can literally be the difference between life and death and milk banks often have a shortage of breastmilk anyway. Secondly, it reduces the safety of milk sharing. Safe milk sharing relies on the donor being completely honest about their health and lifestyle. It is unlikely that a woman would spend so much time and effort donating milk for no financial reward (as well as feeding her own baby) if her milk could possibly be harmful. Introducing money into the situation makes private milk donation a lot less safe (and it can be very safe when done properly).

 

[summer rain]

I agree with freckleonear, I'd feel comfortable using donated milk if I knew the donor; but wouldn't if I had bought the milk at an inflated cost from someone whom I will probably never meet, it would just feel a bit 'black market' to me. Also in my religion you can have donated milk where you know the donor but not where you don't, its complex but its to do with the fact breastfeeding creates family ties. A baby who you breastfeed or who has your milk for a certain number of feedings, is like your own baby xx

 

[Natsku]

I agree with freckleonear too but I think women ought to be paid to donate milk to milk banks. They're paid to do it here and as far as I can tell there is no shortage of milk that they even give it to full term babies in the hospitals if the mother is having trouble establishing breastfeeding.

 

[BlackBerry25]

I think we need a debate on the word third world country.

How is that offensive?

Who is the second world country?

 

[bky]

No because it's too open for human rights violations. I mean, as you mention bananas there were/are a lot of ethical issues surrounding banana farming and plantations and those don't involve something produced by a human being, just the labour and treatment thereof. Now take that labour and treatment and apply it to a lactating mother and a not-at-all farfetched outcome would be something resembling a milking shed for humans.

I actually think donated, or even expressed, breast milk is a highly misused tool, just like formula. It's no substitute for educated help and it's often used as one. It should be more available to those who need it, but it should not be used in lieu of assistance.

 

[Lightworker]

Bky- I picked bananas off the top of my head, but yes I see your point. Exploitation already exists for current agricultural exports so I'm sure BM would follow suit.

 

[Lightworker]

Blackberry- perhaps you could start a new thread about that term as it has the potential to be a huge debate and I wouldn't want this thread to get diverted to that extent x

 

[smokey]

If you could sell breast milk wouldnt that then mean they would have to allow a legal market for such things as blood and organs?
In the end all needed donated things such as breast milk, blood, organs, bone marrow would only be available to those that can afford it rather then those that needed it and regulations for waiting lists and such wont exsist anymore.

Plus it doesnt matter how much money is given over to individuals of developing countries when the governments are so messed up.
Untill the governemts are sorted out citizens will continue to get screwed over and the profits from selling milk will just end up going into the pockets of polititions, drug pushers, gun sellers, human trafficers, pimps.
All this will then end up reducing proceders to screen on that end to save money or to bypass red tape and then our country will have to pick up the bill of screening safely but then you would have to defrost to do so and it will just be worst off in the long run.

 

[Lightworker]

Yeah totally agree (although I feel inclined to point out that traffikers, pimps, drug pushers etc all exist in the developed world as well). So does that mean you don't but anything which has been imported from developing countries, because they are all subject to the conditions you just described. Do you actively boycott goods from there. I always thought that in the US you got paid to donate blood. I saw it in a movie once (yes I not thats not a credible source)

 

[KatieB]

My mum had loads of breastmilk (I was fed until 22 months) and she "donated" a load of her milk to the hospital for premature babies. We never had a lots of money by any means but I know she wouldn't have taken any cash for it, she did it because it was no trouble for her, she had too much of it and could help out so she did. I can't speak for the notion of putting this into practice in developing countries to eradicate poverty however I think it very sad that people charge such huge amounts for it.

 

[lynnikins]

a little cash wouldnt have gone a-miss when i was donating Breastmilk, and I think it is entirely differnt selling to a milk bank directly after their intensive screening processes than it is selling it privately which is how it is predominately done at the moment.

personally i have no need to purchase Breastmilk as i tend to run oversupply issues when I am BF hence donating both times ive been BF first to the hospital but then privately as the hospital requirements make me in-elegible now because of my blood transfusion, however that wasnt an issue for the mother who I was donating to privately and she did supply the bags for storing the milk and did the organisation of collecting etc...

I think it would be a good thing if there was an incentive for a mother to donate/sell to a lisenced milk bank because there would be testing and regulation and if health checks could happen so that it could be made sure that the mother is not depriving her own child to "make money" then it could surely benefit by increasing the number of mothers willing to donate.

I know alot of mothers ive talked to never thought of donating to a milk bank whilst BF dispite repeated newspaper articles locally about how donors were needed it even got on local news a few times!.

 

[KittyVentura]

I wouldn't... but not because of where it came from.

I desperately wanted to feed Fin myself. I didn't make it past 3 weeks (for reasons I won't go into) and I still feel hurt and distressed about that to this day. I didn't just want to give it a go. I spent my whole 9 months dreaming about it and planning it. It was a big important thing for me. The thought of another woman providing my son with the one thing that I desperately wanted to provide myself but ultimately failed at... well it hurts me beyond explaination.

So, while it probably makes me sound awful. I would never have been able to give Fin breastmilk unless I could supply it myself. I know that breast is best, even if it is not mine, but I just couldn't do it. The thought hurts me to the point that I feel certain that giving him bottles of another woman's breastmilk would have seriously affected me emotionally at a time when I was already extremely vunerable.

So basically, while I know that nutritionally and scientifically, buying breastmilk would have been the best second option for Fin. Formula was the only second option I could consider, for my own sake an sanity. If that makes me selfish to those of you that are very pro BF then so be it, but I really hope you see my post for what it is, especially as it hurt just to type it up.

This is just my view though. I doubt other women would feel as I did. I think the idea is fab so long as it was correctly screened and endored by the NHS or similar to give UK parents confidence in it. It would also need to really be a competitive price with formula however on the market else I see mothers opting for formula out of necessity because of financial restraints

xx