The Outsourcing of Breastfeeding

We have all heard of outsourcing, but not like this. I read this article on time.com about people that breast feed children that are not their own. Although this practice was abandoned in the 19th century, these so called "wet nurses" are slowly climbing back. This practice is growing because in the US, 70 percent of babies are breast fed at any given time, more women are in the workforce and more women are getting breast implants. Studies have shown that children who are breast fed for longer than 7 months tend to have higher IQ's and may be healthier and happier. I think that this practice is a little weird and something that I would not have allowed my children to do regardless of the value.

First of all, what about the transmission of viruses that can be passed during breastfeeding? There are probably not any regulations and according to the time.com article above there is a company that places wet nurses nationwide. The company is called Certified Household Staffing and their website looks like a teenager threw it together for a class project. They boast a lifetime replacement guarantee and thank goodness they at least do background and drug checks, but there is no mention of disease checks. Viruses such as HIV, hepatitis or tuberculosis can be passed along to the infant. Seems a little sketchy!!

Secondly, how long can a person express breast milk? ( I am a guy and have no idea as my wife did not with both our children. I unfortunately, had no choice and still get sick at the thought of "latching" onto my mom. ) This article states that a lady by the name Brenda has outsourced her breast milk to 10 babies in the last 7 years. It is good money and she said that she will use it to send her two kids to college. At the going rate of $1000 a week to be milked, that is a pretty substantial amount. I figure at that rate and the fact that babies breastfeed for typically the first 6 months, that is around 60 months of work and at $4000 a month, she raked in approximately $240,000. Where do you claim that amount on your 1040EZ federal tax form? I did find the answer to the opening question and it says that as long as milk is expressed, you can lactate for twenty, thirty plus years. Holy Cow! No pun intended.

What makes this worse is the fact that even if you don't feel comfortable hiring a wet nurse, you can go to a milk bank and make a withdrawal. Seriously. There is a company called National Milk Bank that collects donated breast milk and makes it available to premature and critically ill babies. There is no dispute that, breast milk is best for a developing baby. I clicked on "shop" on their website, www.nationalmilkbank.org, and thank goodness, milk was not an option as there are probably wackos out there that would order up and do weird things with it. This is the only breast milk sharing program that I could actually see a medical benefit for.

As you can see, this practice of outsourcing milk mommies is a no go for me as I don't think it is safe, nor regulated enough to keep children safe.