I would if I had a premie. My friend had a late stillbirth. She was able to pump a ton and donated it through a Facebook group to a medically fragile premie. This arrangement certainly has its place.

Absolutely not.

I would never do this, there's no way to know it's safe and how it was stored etc. Not worth it for whatever BS "benefits" of breastfeeding.

Babies that actually need it (preemies) get it from the hospital where it is sourced.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God no. Why on earth. I'm not going to let my kid drink someone else's bodily fluid!!! Breast is best is a travesty I swear to God. Please read the actual scientific literature on the benefits of breastmilk. This is a mass effing delusion the men who work at the FDA cooked up.

And btw I'm saying this as someone who breastfed my kids till a year.

+1. I breastfeed exclusively but, yikes, no. Breastmilk banks test for certain diseases and have protections. Buying random breastmilk from Facebook, nope.

She’s not buying it, it’s donated. I looked at the group (“Human Milk for Human Babies”) and one of the rules is that it can’t be sold. I guess the thinking being that if it’s a donation, people are more likely to be honest about what they are donating.

Nevertheless, good to know that my initial reaction of “this doesn’t seem safe” (followed by, I admit, feeling like maybe I didn’t do “enough” for my own LO - thanks for the reality check on that) was correct.

Should I talk to my friend about this? She is a Nurse Practitioner, and I know she has to be aware of the risks. This is her first, and I know so many people told her “Fed is best.” when she was separated from her baby for a couple of days about a week after birth for her own medical condition.

Or do I say nothing? I guess it’s none of my business?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God no. Why on earth. I'm not going to let my kid drink someone else's bodily fluid!!! Breast is best is a travesty I swear to God. Please read the actual scientific literature on the benefits of breastmilk. This is a mass effing delusion the men who work at the FDA cooked up.

And btw I'm saying this as someone who breastfed my kids till a year.

+1. I breastfeed exclusively but, yikes, no. Breastmilk banks test for certain diseases and have protections. Buying random breastmilk from Facebook, nope.

I truly hope you are not serious… You would be accepting donor milk from somebody who has not been tested or vetted. Are you really cool with giving your newborn someone else’s milk not knowing whether that person could be passing on hepatitis B or C or HIV to your baby? Or whether that donor uses cocaine or weed or meth that would be entering your child’s system? Come on. Be smart.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We used a milk bank when we needed breast milk.

You didn't need breastmilk.

This is not the thread for that debate.

I am pretty crunchy and no way in hell I would do this.

Absolutely not. There are lots of body fluid borne infectious diseases. Would you let your child have an immunization with a needle that had been used on someone else first? If for some reason using your own breast milk is not feasible, then use a good quality formula. Millions of babies have done just fine on formula.

Anonymous wrote:God no. Why on earth. I'm not going to let my kid drink someone else's bodily fluid!!! Breast is best is a travesty I swear to God. Please read the actual scientific literature on the benefits of breastmilk. This is a mass effing delusion the men who work at the FDA cooked up.

And btw I'm saying this as someone who breastfed my kids till a year.

Anonymous wrote:We used a milk bank when we needed breast milk.

You didn't need breastmilk.

We used a milk bank when we needed breast milk.

Absolutely not. Bodily fluids from some random person, when I have no idea about the storage condition, sanitation of the pump parts, etc? No way.

God no. Why on earth. I'm not going to let my kid drink someone else's bodily fluid!!! Breast is best is a travesty I swear to God. Please read the actual scientific literature on the benefits of breastmilk. This is a mass effing delusion the men who work at the FDA cooked up.

Would you (or have you used) donor breast milk from a Facebook group if money wasn’t exchanged? It’s a Facebook group specifically for donating breast milk. A friend is using milk she’s gotten from this group, and I realized when I gave up breastfeeding I never even thought about trying to find donor milk, I just switched to formula. There is part of me that wonders if I didn’t do enough for my LO, and part of me wonders if this is safe.