A new trend is growing, its a trend that may shock many but its alive on the internet. Breastfeeding mothers selling breast milk over the Internet.
Strange enough its new mothers who are said to be either selling or buying Breast milk.
This business is growing because of the much spoken of benefits of Breast Milk over formula substitutes.
But what is worrying is the rate at which the business is growing ..it is unregulated and most highly unsafe according to a new health warning that was issued one week ago.
In an editorial published in The British Medical Journal, a trio of public health experts aired concern over the potential for breast milk contamination and transmission of diseases to infants.
“Although breast milk holds many known benefits, seeking out another’s milk rather than turning to instant formula poses risks,” the authors wrote.
“At present, milk bought online is a far from ideal alternative, exposing infants and other consumers to microbiological and chemical agents. Urgent action is required to make this market safer.”
The warning comes amid a growth in sales of breast milk over the internet.
Using specialty websites, such as Only the Breast, and even general-purpose ad sites, including Craigslist, women who produce extra milk are selling their surplus to mothers who are unable to express it on their own, explained Sarah Steele, a lecturer at the Global Health, Policy and Innovation Unit at Queen Mary University London.
Some mothers even sell their milk to bodybuilders and other fitness enthusiasts who seek extra nutrients.
In one of the few studies to examine the online sale of human breast milk, researchers led by Sarah Keim of the Center for Biobehavioral Health at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, found that more than 75 percent of 101 breast milk samples purchased were poorly shipped or stored and had high levels of bacterial growth that would make a baby sick – including fecal matter and salmonella.
Nearly a quarter of those samples tested positive for cytomegalovirus, which is related to the viruses that cause chicken pox and herpes simplex.
There’s a call to federal and state regulators to issue guidance for mothers on safety issues surrounding purchased or donated breast milk, because so many mothers are turning to the Internet for information and don’t know the risks.
While no organization tracks the online sale of breast milk,the number of new mothers opting to buy and sell breast milk over the internet is growing at an alarming rate.
