human milk

[philothea]

IIRC, there is a company in California that will be selling human milk. It is intended for sick or premature infants in hospitals.

I was curious about their human... ah... "cows" but not curious enough to actually click the link and read the article.

Wet nurses have fed babies not their own for centuries. It's not an uncommon practice, it just hasn't been modernized yet.

[curtins]

I dont like the idea of how they would get the human milk

cow milk is gross unless its on cereal. I refuse to drink milk but cereal rules all

I think I have heard of some people that drink human milk- how they get it I want to know not.

[toledo_jesus]

all milk is something I can do without. I like chocolate milk and milk as part of booze drinks.

[hierochloe]

[quote name='philothea' date='Aug 19 2005, 05:24 PM']IIRC, there is a company in California that will be selling human milk.  It is intended for sick or premature infants in hospitals.

I was curious about their human... ah... "cows" but not curious enough to actually click the link and read the article.

Wet nurses have fed babies not their own for centuries.  It's not an uncommon practice, it just hasn't been modernized yet.
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This sounds more akin to donating blood or plasma.

Boozedrinks 4tw. :

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='hierochloe' date='Aug 19 2005, 05:43 PM']This sounds more akin to donating blood or plasma.

Boozedrinks 4tw.  :
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Yeah, that's not a big deal. I don't wetnurses are bad either..

[avemaria40]

donating milk for sick or premature babies is OK and so are wetnurses, but mass-producing it for a grocery store doesn't seem to respect women at all.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='avemaria40' date='Aug 20 2005, 03:40 PM']donating milk for sick or premature babies is OK and so are wetnurses, but mass-producing it for a grocery store doesn't seem to respect women at all.
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yeah.. that's what I think too.

[avemaria40]

why is this on the debate table? this has nothing to do with the faith, except it seems to be a question of human dignity, which i think would be grossly violated (as i mentioned earlier) if we had women mass produce their breast milk, treating them like cows instead of ppl

[Sojourner]

I just read recently about an effort to get a breast-milk bank built up in my state, which I think is a good idea, something akin to a blood bank (as someone has already mentioned).

But for an adult ... no way. I barely like drinking cow's milk because I'm not all that thrilled with the health risks associated with it, and I think it would be even harder to regulate quality of human breast milk.

Plus it's just gross, and somehow very demeaning. Like LD said .. it turns something natural and beautiful into a commodity in a way that's just wrong.

[Cam42]

This is a disgusting thread......

[ReinnieR]

i can't imagine eating cereal with it

[journeyman]

First off, I've always liked milk

How to delicately put this . . . when one's spouse sincerely desires that the internal pressure of the milk on her breasts be relieved, and the infant chooses that night to sleep through a feeding, and the breast pump is downstairs in the kitchen (or just plain missing in action), it might be considered a kindness (perhaps even a duty) to assist in any way one can. The taste is not unpleasant, the texture is not the same as whole (cow) milk, more like low fat or skim.

I know, I know, TMI

I don't have the medical knowledge, but I believe that human breast milk is the best food for infants during the first few weeks of life, and the Laleche League (sp?) among others advocate breast feeding for longer periods. As pointed out above, the mother and child are biologically customized for each other.

The long history of wetnurses suggests that even though the mother is the ideal source, there is little risk in the breast milk of one who is not the biological mother.

Mass production for mass consumption, "lacks respect" is not strong enough, "degrading" is hardly strong enough . . . but I'm at a loss for the right adjective for that sort of "objectification"

[avemaria40]

it's ok to pump breast milk and store it, wetnurses are ok, and so are milk banks, like if a mom can't nurse do to surgery, AIDS, etc or if a baby is adopted, sick or premature, etc. but mass consumption of breastmilk just seems to be really wrong.

[Paladin D]

[quote name='journeyman' date='Aug 20 2005, 11:17 PM']First off, I've always liked milk

How to delicately put this . . . when one's spouse sincerely desires that the internal pressure of the milk on her breasts be relieved, and the infant chooses that night to sleep through a feeding, and the breast pump is downstairs in the kitchen (or just plain missing in action), it might be considered a kindness (perhaps even a duty) to assist in any way one can.  The taste is not unpleasant, the texture is not the same as whole (cow) milk, more like low fat or skim.
[/quote]

Are you implying that you actually had some?

[Dreamweaver]

I think I read somewhere that human breast milk is way to rich for adults to drink. It has the nutrients for fast growing babies. Though the idea for breast milk banks for sick/premature infants is a wonderful idea, mass producing human milk for profit is wrong. Where's the dignity to motherhood?