A Vancouver woman, Becca Shears, was recently kicked off Craigslist for offering breast milk to mothers unable to breastfeed. She put it on for free and someone saw it and flagged it as unethical. She tried posting it three more times and it was flagged within minutes.
Now she is offering her breast milk for sale on Kijiji at $1.50 ounce, which is just enough to cover the costs of pumping, sterile storage and shipping.
Becca is a surrogate mother of twins due in the next 4-6 weeks. Her breast milk will go to them for the first month and after that she wants to provide it to a parent in need.
Health Canada and U.S. health officials caution moms against buying or swapping breast milk on-line, and while I agree some semblance of screening needs to be done, can we not start treating grown adults as people who are capable of making their own decisions?
If I couldn’t breast feed my baby I would still want her to have breast milk, and it would be a blessing to find a generous woman offering hers for free or even for the price Becca is now asking. I would talk to my donor in depth about her health background and I would request notes from her doctors to validate it. If this woman is already a surrogate, surely the parents of the children she is carrying have already done their own due diligence. This woman would expect the same from any other interested parties. And if she didn’t, I wouldn’t accept milk from her.
Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for an infant, followed by donor milk, then milk from a milk bank, and then formula. If you can’t offer your child the very best then why not second best? Why do officials make it so difficult for women to do what they feel is best for their kids. We don’t need a license to parent, but we need the health authority breathing down our backs if we want to share our breast milk?
Mothers across the country share breast milk, mostly behind closed doors, but it happens. Nelson, B.C. mother, Camara Cassin, has been relying on the generosity of other mothers to provide breast milk for her 15 month old daughter who suffers from Krabbe Leukodystrophy, which is a rare, degenerative brain disorder. Milk banks charge $2 ounce for breast milk. But the cost isn’t the only barrier to moms. Priority goes to babies in neo-natal intensive care units. All other moms, even the ones with sick babies need to wait in line. So this gift that Ms. Shears wants to bestow upon a needy family is one of the best gifts a person could ever give. I hope she finds a family to give it to. A part of me thinks she probably already has.
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This woman should be supported and congratulated on her selfless efforts to help others acquire the best nutrition for a baby, period. I’m more than a little disgusted with the government’s increasing interest in monitoring the healthiest options we, as people could choose – from breast milk to nutritional/herbal supplements and vitamins – while allowing all the unhealthy options (tobacco, alcohol come to mind; fast food, too) is our ‘right’ to choose to consume as adults.
And your comment on not needing a license to become a parent? So spot on.
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Melodie Reply:
December 2nd, 2010 at 1:41 am
I think that’s where my head was at for sure Lisa. Especially now that I am back working for the health authority and seeing how much they try to control individual’s right to choose. This just seemed like one more thing, even though Craigslist is obviously not part of the health authority, yet the concern behind it stems from that.
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It is so crazy. Not only are there constantly ads for free *formula* on Craigslist all the time, but there are so many outrageous real issues with that site. Most notably a campaign of at least two years against sex trafficking of children. (http://abcnews.go.com/WN/popul.....d=11367581)
I understand the flagging system is driven by users, not Craigslist administration, unfortunately it seems to be more a reflection of the mixed up society that we live in!
Have you heard of Eats on Feets, a global movement of women in over 90 places setting up an informal milk-sharing network using Facebook?
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Melodie Reply:
December 2nd, 2010 at 1:39 am
Wow to that article you linked to. I had no idea! Yes, I have heard of Eats on Feets. I should probably do a post on them at some point. Thanks for the reminder!
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From what I understand, Craigslist has a policy against allowing people to list bodily fluids (look here: http://www.craigslist.org/about/prohibited.items). Breastmilk is certainly a bodily fluid, and I can understand why they wouldn’t want it listed on their site. There may be liability and legality issues surrounding it, and as a business, I’m not sure I would want to deal with those, either.
I agree wholeheartedly that we can trust parents to make decisions for their children. I agree wholeheartedly that we need to change our attitude and our approach to donor milk. But Craigslist may not be the place to do it.
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You know before Eats of feets came along I found myself with a surplus of milk exploding out of my freezer. None of my friends had babies, Some herbal supplements I had taken made it impossible for me to donate to the milk bank I was faced with dumping 120+ oz of breastmilk down the drain! I looked online i looked at craig’s list I emailed my local Freecycyle group on Yahoo asking and offering my milk. No one would let me offer it. Thankfully my mom let me put it in her deep freezer so i could extend the life on it and find someone to donate it to but its hard to imagine all of that life giving/life saving work being dumped down the drain! Craig’s list maybe isn’t the best place for it but Eats on Feets is a Godsend! Eats on Feets operates under informed choice. If you don’t want to feed your child another woman’s milk you probably won’t ever find yourself on an EOF facebook page. For those who need it who make the informed choice to take it tho its THERE!
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Melodie Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 2:38 am
Thanks for sharing your story Deaira. That’s so awesome about Eats on Feets.
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When I had a surplus stash of milk in my freezer I found a recipient through a local lactation consultant. I had never heard of Eats on Feets and would not have known where to go to donate the extra milk otherwise. I think informal networks through reputable lactation consultants are a reasonable way to share breast milk.
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Melodie Reply:
December 3rd, 2010 at 2:39 am
Thanks for that suggestion. I don’t know if I would ever have thought of that myself but it makes so much sense.
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I’m kind of shocked that the mom who the twins are going to won’t want the breastmilk past the first month. Why in the world NOT?! Continue giving them the best!!
Dionna @ Code Name: Mama´s last [type] ..Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars
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(and then as soon as I clicked submit, I thought – maybe they live far away and the shipping costs are high; maybe I’m not thinking of some other variable that would prohibit giving the twins the milk; but still, it made me wonder)
Dionna @ Code Name: Mama´s last [type] ..Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars
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“can we not start treating grown adults as people who are capable
of making their own decisions”
It is so frustrating.
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Awesome article.
I just did an interview with Shell Walker from Eats on Feets US. It is amazing how rapidly they have grown. You can read my article here: http://www.askthelactationcons.....feets.html
There is also another organization called Milkshare that facilitates donor milk swaps. Their website is http://www.milkshare.com
My thoughts are: human milk may way some dangers but in my opinion are safer than then risks with formula feeding. (assuming you do some medical screening).
Liz
Askthelactationconsultant.com´s last [type] ..Breastfeeding Interviews- breastfeeding experts- lactation articles
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I only wish I knew where I could receive free milk for my son…
He has severe food allergies
Severe acid reflux
And we have tried every infant. Formulas made on the market
With nothing but hell for his lil tummy they’ve put him on elecare and neocate formulas
And he doesn’t like either of them there trying a formula called neocate
Splash possed to tast like juice.. really tasts like crap.. he is 20 mo old and listed as a failure to thrive he’s almost two and still looks like a 9 mo old. He still uses his infant carseat. And as of the 19th of dec 2011 he had a feeding tube placed grrrr.. we asked for a prescription for donor milk and was denied only for the fact that ny hasn’t ever giving a child breast milk
So there for they wouldn’t give it to him. I tried buying it. But just couldn’t afford. And my lil son is forced to be a gunie pig for ddoctors to see what’s going on with hin he’s had tests after test done and can’t count the xrays and radioactive tests. It makes me mad that I just can’t get the breast milk for him he was just fine and growing on my milk but a t 5 months of his age I went dry can anyone help us. 585 905 4579 for txt
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