Breast milk sales : Breast milk banks

Well this is something new. Till recently, the only way to get your infant some breast milk was by providing it yourself or by getting a wet nurse who would do the same. But the current zeitgeist is a little unnerving.

Benefits of breast milk

Breast milk has several benefits that are essential for growing children. The milk has the right mix of water and food along with essential protective proteins that will boost the infants developing immune system. Most mothers produce their own breast milk for their infants within three days of delivery.

But women who are on medications, or who produce insufficient quantities of milk cannot offer their breast milk to their developing infants. This simple disadvantage has now been overcome with the establishment of breast milk banks all across the world at specific localtions.

Will it work?

At present, there seems to be an overwhelming demand for breast milk with banks actively screening donors, pasteurizing and lab testing milk for storage. The demand is high with independent donors offering breast milk online for as much as $15 per bottle. Women who work or who have lost a child or who even have extra milk can pump and store the milk for their infants as well as other infants.

Most doctors advise mothers who buy breast milk to use a variety of tested donor to ensure that the child gets a cross section of antibodies from different women. The larger the quantity of antibodies the better the protection for the mother!

How can you enroll yourself?

At present, there are several sites online that will offer you breast milk for about $2.90 per bottle with shipping extra. Get in touch with associations like a non-profit milk bank attached to the Human Milk Banking Association of North America. You can also attach yourself to a profit-based association like Prolacta.

The best alternative is however to link up with a private donor and a physician who will check the milk and deliver it to your free of contaminants.