Can a baby drink another woman's breast milk?

Question

For example if the woman is also breast-feeding or Pregnant or if it the time of the month when the woman who is baby-sitting is havin g her period? It is something I weas thinking about after hearing about wet-nursing.

Answer 1

Yes! The baby doesn't care whose breast he's suckling.

Answer 2

Generally a woman who is breast feeding wont get her period. However female babysitters can have a period.
And yes, of course a baby can have another woman's breast milk. Are you thinking of becoming a wet nurse?

Answer 3

Yes, women have taken over the task of wet-nurse for centuries. But it's done mostly when a woman's milk dries out for some reason, or maybe the mother dies. I don't think you let your baby nurse on someone else though just because they're babysitting? (I don't get that part of your question/statement) And you don't have your period while you're breastfeeding, so no problems there...

Answer 4

I don't completely understand the question. But, I think the answer is yes. You can donate your unneeded breast milk to cities, countries that are in dire need of breast milk.
I dont know about the period part of the question. Having a period doesn't affect your breastmilk supply. Breastfeeding might keep your period away until your feedings slow down greatly.

Answer 5

Hi Thanks for posting the question.

Women who have decided to breastfeed will know breastmilk is the ideal food for babies. It is especially important for babies who are sick or premature. Giving these babies breastmilk increases their chances of survival and helps their long-term development. Sometimes their mothers cannot feed them because they are sick or under too much stress to produce enough milk.

Did you know that there are milk banks for donor milk for babies?

Some communities especially in 3rd world countries offer their breast milk to many children, especially when there is one lady with an abundance.

If its something your considering, make sure that its safe, i.e. is the donor using any medication, even like contreception, or do they smoke, or drink alchohol, all these things can affect the baby, and should be investigated.

Even certain illnesses can be transmitted through breast milk, so its really important to know the whole story first.

If its something youre thinking about doing for someone else, then of course make sure you have the parents permission first.

As with all these things, consulting youre GP first may be a good idea!

I hope this helps!

Take Care

Answer 6

yes of corse they can, so long as the mother is healthy and eating the right things there is no problems with it - so many people think it's disgusting but if the mother is un-able to feed their own baby then another person's breast milk should be the next option before formular! those who thinks its gross would probably allow their child to drink milk squeezed from a cow's udder so actual human milk should not be seen as gross!!!

wet-nurses however were employed by rich mother's who didn't want to breast-feed and so paid a wet nurse to feed there babies, i think that's awful and mother's breasts produce milk to feed their babies and so thats what they should do!

Answer 7

Yes...in poor countries many women take turns feeding the children of the village (I lived in several for a few years)...it doesn't matter who your mom is, you simply are hungry so you approach a women who has breast milk (these are kids up to usually 3ish because they can make breast milk for free but it costs to have foo). Also, many rich women will pay to have another nursing woman come in and nurse their child so that they don't have to.

Answer 8

I'm not sure if the woman being on her period has anything to do with it, but wet nurses have been around for centuries. It's not a common practice these days, but it is done.

There are also Milk Banks where women who have excess milk are screened and they donate their unused breast milk.

Answer 9

I'm not really sure what you're asking, but if you're asking if an infant can drink breastmilk from someone other than it's mother, yes. Adopted infants do it all the time. You can actually donate breastmilk to some hospitals who then give it out to first time mothers who can't produce, or parents who have just adopted and want to breastfeed. Women can also produce breastmilk even if they've never been pregnant, they have to have the child suckle for a few weeks and eventually they will begin to produce milk.

Answer 10

yes a baby can drink another mothers breastmilk. a women can continue to lactate after having a baby for years as long as she either expresses the milk or is breastfeeding. some mothers breastfeed their children up to 4 yrs old(usually they pump the milk after the child is around 2 because they tend to bite sometimes and with our culture the way it is women tend to shy away from breastfeeding a child much older than 2.) breastmilk is supposed to have the most nutrients for a child.

Answer 11

Yes! "Wet Nurses" have been used as surrogates for breast feeding throughout history when the mother was unable or unwilling to breast feed her own infant. For more information, please see the site I have listed as a source. Very complete info on all aspects of breastfeeding.