Tuesday, January 04, 2005

WSJ.com - Mothers Who Share Breast Milk
As of Tuesday, January 4, 2005 
By SARA SCHAEFER MUĂ‘OZ
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 4, 2005; Page D1
"Amid mounting evidence of the health benefits of breast-feeding for infants, a movement is quietly growing among parents: sharing or even selling breast milk. The idea is to provide milk for adoptive mothers and women who cannot nurse because of illness or some other reason. Instead of turning solely to infant formula to feed their children, these women are tapping into informal networks of friends, acquaintances and in some cases strangers found on the Internet. While there are milk banks where parents can purchase donated breast milk that has been pasteurized and screened for disease, infants who are very sick and cannot nurse get priority. In addition, banks require a doctor's prescription, and the milk can be very expensive -- about $100 a day...."