A lady put an ad in the paper in Cedar Rapids, IA selling 100oz of breastmilk for $200?

Question

She said she didn't want it to "go to waste".
I guess this answers the question that was posted a few weeks ago about how much breastmilk would go for if sold.

What do you think? Would you sell your breastmilk if someone would buy it? Would you buy someone else's breastmilk to feed your baby?

Answer 1

I knew a wet nurse once. This was about 1990 or so. I remember when the woman told me she had been breast feeding other's babys and had been doing this for several years. Her own son was about six years old and my first reaction was, one of curiosity and not judgment. And it still is by the way.

She responded to my first question by telling me that a woman will continue to produce milk indefinitely as long as, how can I put this, she could find a hungry baby. Well, said I to myself, you do learn something new everyday. She also said the people she helped were the babies of women who just didn't produce enough milk. She said it helped the baby get the nutrition she/he needed for development. The mother's of these babies believed that breast milk was better than formula milk. I don't know how she charged or even if she did charge for her service.

One day a few months later, she was breast feeding another woman's baby, but she was doing it without the mother of the baby knowing it. Well, the baby's mother came back from shopping (the baby had been left with another gal while she was out) and found her little tyke having an afternoon snack.

Long story short, she went ballistic. She was going to call the cops, etc. Someone finally got her calmed down and convinced that no crime had been committed and that her baby would be just fine.

What did I take away from this? 1.) Always get permission to nurse another woman's baby. 2.) If a baby needs a wet nurse (or breastmilk) for her/his nutrition, or even survival, it can still be done.

I also would venture to guess that in these "modern" times many people just don't think wet nurses still are necessary or even exist. I would also venture to guess that in times not too distant in the past many babies survived via the wet nurse.

So, in answer to your question, if all parties are agreeable than it all seems okay. Personally, I would probably go the formula route, especially at the $2/oz price asked above. Seems that I figured the 8 oz bottles of formula was only about a dollar for the whole 8 oz. At the above price my granddaughter would have cost more than I used to make when I was working, boy what an appetite she had. She could down 8 oz in five minutes....lol

Answer 2

If there were more breastmilk banks in Canada (currently there is only one on the other side of the country) I would donate my breastmilk and I would take breastmilk (especially if I had a sick baby) from there.

I wouldn't accept breastmilk that wasn't regulated, just buying it out of the paper. Although breastmilk is the best possible food for a baby, there are also many things that a woman can do that would make her breastmilk unfit for consumption. What if she were doing drugs, drinking or even eating unhealthfully? All of these can affect your baby in serious ways and there's no way I would take that chance.

I would donate milk to a friend, even if it was only enough for a bottle a day, because I know that's is so healthy for them, it doesn't matter if they even only get a little bit!

Answer 3

I wouldn't have a problem with another woman's breastmilk, BUT I would get it from a milk bank rather than some person in the paper. I had read about this and the reason she can't donate it is because she pumped and stored it before she went through the screening process for the bank she normally donates to. So yeah, if I was to do this, I would go to the bank itself.

Answer 4

I would never sell any excess breastmilk I produced. I would much rather donate it to a milk bank so that children who were needing it would have it available. And, while I would not buy HER milk persay(random stranger from the internet); if my body was unable to produce breastmilk I would happily buy breastmilk from a bank, where it had been screened. Either that, or if I had a lactating friend, I would offer her compensation for any excess breastmilk she was able to give me.

Answer 5

I personally would not buy it for my child, specially not knowing where it's coming from. But, I would consider donating it, I know there are places where mother's can donate their milk and it will be given to babies that really are in need of it, this of course, after all the necessary tests have been done to the milk to assure that is appropriate to give to a baby. If I had a baby that would need breast milk, and I was not able to produce my own (God forbid this ever happen) I would take milk from a bank. I've been blessed with two beautiful children, and thank God I have been able to produce plenty milk for them, but, I would never sell it, specially not put an ad on the newspaper selling it, people wouldn't trust it that way, and who knows what type of mean people would call saying things, even if posting it up for sale was meant in a good way, people wouldn't take it nicely. JMO

Answer 6

I think it's a bit expensive for the amount of breastmilk. Personally, if I had extra, I'd donate, not try to profit. And yes, I'd use another woman's milk to feed my child. I'd pay for breastmilk before I'd buy formula.

Answer 7

They actually have milk banks where Mom's can go and donate their milk so that other Mom's who are unable to breast feed for some reason can give their child Breast Milk. Whether or not you choose to do that is a personal preference. Breast milk is so beneficial to a baby, that some Mom's opt to do it this way.

I personally do not think I would buy someone elses breast milk....I might sell mine. I don't know. I would have to be in that situation. There must be a demand if there are actual Milk Banks.

Answer 8

Unless you personally know the other person and have the utmost trust in them, other people's breastmilk should only be obtained through a reputable milk bank.

Answer 9

Drugs, sickness, alcohol... all sorts of things can be in breastmilk. I might hire a wet nurse who I knew well- such as friend or family member, but some random lady's breast milk, probably not.

THere are milk banks at hospitals and organizations that collect it and send it to places like africa for the aids babies who might otherwise have no immune defenses.

I would probably donate it if it were me. But selling it, in this culture and this society is odd to me.

But you're right, i remember that post, asking how much it would sell for, lol. That DOES answer that question.

Answer 10

I would sell mine. I had a ton of frozen breast milk left over. I wouldn't buy someone else's unless it had been tested for disease and drugs/alcohol or it came from a person I could trust, like a sister or best friend.