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Originally Posted by Blondimom728  I understand all of that, but I just think of the wrong kind of people getting the wrong kind of idea about selling milk. I don't want to sound paranoid, but I have seen all kinds of things go on that is unheard of over my years working first in human services, and then as a pediatric nurse. What if drug addicts sold there breastmilk for drug money? How would a mother know?
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Well, unfortunately, as a recipient, you don't know, but that's the risk some people take. The best defense against this is to get to know your seller really well and conduct your own tests. The seller could be a lifelong friend that is doing this, and paying her for her milk is a way to help her out with her expenses... No way of knowing without examining each individual situation...
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| Some corrupt person can put up a front of being a loving bf mom, while getting the less then ideal bm donation candidates to give their milk to her, so she can resell it posing as loving mommy who wants to help. I mean this is a long shot, but there is corruption everywhere and there are people who would commit any type of fraud when money is to be made. I think its ok to sell breastmilk, but I think it should be a regulated thing, especially for the protection of the baby. |
Regulated by whom? Who is going to make this any less corrupt without making it harder for the people that are actually doing the right thing? The FDA? And how would it be regulated? What's the "proper" way to do so? I can't think of any way to regulate this sort of transaction without it turning into a royal bureaucratic PITA for everyone involved. I think individual "regulation" (in the form of blood tests for diseases, urine tests for drugs, and possibly other tests to determine if the milk is indeed human milk and not cow's milk poured into Lansinoh bags, paid for by the recipient...) is a good idea, and that's a part of what it means to be a cautious consumer... But external regulation, ugh, that just sounds like a nightmare for everyone.
I agree that there is corruption everywhere, and there are people who would commit any type of fraud when money is to be made. Totally agree with you there. But as the old adage goes, "buyer beware." Lots of things are supposedly "regulated" now aren't very well overlooked, yet it costs us lots of money (in the form of taxes, etc.) to pay for this "overlooking" and "regulation."
Obviously the ideal situation for a recipient is for the breastmilk to be donated (not only because it's cheaper, but because it helps to ensure the donor isn't doing it for the money -- since there's no money to be made), but if a woman decides to sell her own milk, I don't think there should be restrictions placed on her, and I don't think there should be any law against that. As a buyer in a situation like that, I would be
extremely cautious, and in fact, I probably wouldn't enter into a situation like that at all as a recipient because I'm so extremely cautious about those kinds of situations (I would look for someone who is donating for altruistic reasons instead)... But I still wouldn't want to restrict any woman who would want to sell her own milk. It's hers to sell and/or do with what she wishes. If a corporation can sell another woman's breastmilk, then it sure as heck should be O.K. for the woman who spent the time pumping her own milk to sell it.
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: I say good for her if she gets money for it. Obviously if she wants to give it away, that's even better (and extremely kind and generous), but I don't see why a woman who worked so hard to pump should be obligated to give her milk to anyone.
, and why I write about it so much.
