Donated Human Breastmilk and WAPF Formula

[CellarDoor]

Hi all,

I would love to hear thoughts on the following (answer only those that apply to your sitch):

1. If you use(d) the WAPF formula(e), did you ever consider looking for a human milk donor? If yes, how did you find your donor(s)? Was it a positive experience?

2. If you used donated human milk (even partially), how much information about the diet of the mother did you get? Were you at all concerned about the quality of the milk?

3. If you are/were uncomfortable with looking for or using donor milk, what are/were your reasons?

4. Hypothetical q. for those who exclusively bf: if you couldn't provide enough bm for your newborn, what would be your course of action?

NOTE: I AM NOT TRYING TO START A FIGHT between those who are formula feeding and those who are bfeeding on this board. I am trying to understand how TFers think about infant feeding when ebfing isn't an option.

Thanks!

[Gale Force]

I wasn't on a TF diet in my early postpartum days. My milk did not come in until about day 10, so I did supplement with formula for the first month.

I am currently pregnant and if I need to supplement again, I would most definitely look for a human donor first. Second, I would use a conventional formula (try the prescription formulas if need be) . Third, I would consider a goat milk formula. I would only go with a raw milk formula if nothing else worked. It is somewhat of a hypothetical situation for me since I expect I could get donor milk. Here on MDC there are probably a lot of people willing to donate milk.

If I went the donor milk route, I suppose I would look for someone on a whole foods diet, but I would be tickled to get any milk at all.

Amanda

[Pinky Tuscadero]

I would find donor milk at all costs. While I believe that cow/goat milk is a great food for children and adults, I think it is of the utmost importance to have species specific milk for all mammal newborns.
That being said, I would choose cow/goat milk over store bought formula anyday. I would not feed my baby pasteurized conventional milk mixed with all those yucky things. Bleh!

[snowbunny]

Originally Posted by MaClaire

4. Hypothetical q. for those who exclusively bf: if you couldn't provide enough bm for your newborn, what would be your course of action?

My first course of action would be to find donor milk.

I think WAPF is sorely lacking in its stance on breastfeeding and their homemade formula. I also believe that breastmilk from a mother who does not follow a WAPF-friendly diet is still a million times better than a concoction comprised of milk from another species and other additions.

[Bensmommy]

I would look for local donors first (friends, family, etc). If no local, then I would look beyond (but try to keep it raw). If I were obtaining from women that I didn't know, I would ask about their diet, but most importantly I'd want to know their medical history (i.e. communicable diseases, etc), her motivation for donating, her personal feelings about bf, and her stance on alcohol and medications while bf. I would be more apt to take milk from an aquaintance that I could meet locally (especially if she were donating, not selling) because that feels right to me. If I could not find raw bm, then I'd make the raw cows formula from NT.

I'd be a little more concerned if she wanted to be compensated for more than shipping and bottles (I would rather arrange to pay shipping and give her bottles) because I don't want someone "milking for a living"--they may have other motivations and things they are hiding from you. I, myself, have offered friends, family, and complete strangers my milk and would never dream of asking for money other than shipping or bottles, KWIM?

Just my .02