Southern Ontario moms organize online to swap breast milk

blog by S.J. Velasquez • March 19, 2013 @ 11:48am

Mother’s unable to breast feed babies often struggle with the reality that their little ones may have to get necessary nutrients from baby formula, but one group of Southern Ontario moms has taken to Facebook to swap human breast milk.

“I had trouble feeding my son in the first week of his life, and it kind of became a crisis,” Laura Gauthier told MetroNews.ca. “He lost a lot of weight, and we ended up having to feed him formula which is something I didn’t want to do.”

Gauthier, an administrator for the Human Milk 4 Human Babies Facebook page, said page is just a “billboard system,” and she encourages those looking to receive human milk to “make an informed choice” before feeding others’ milk to a child.

While human breast milk is ideal for developing infants, a Health Canada representative warns potential recipients of human milk that there are potential risks associated with sharing milk.

Similar swapping services do exist in the United States. For example, OnlyTheBreast.com caters to women looking to buy, sell and donate human breast milk, including those in the Buffalo area.

Speaking of sharing milk, a new “dairy share” has recently been introduced to Western New York. The milk, though, is produced by other species.

TAGGED: babies, breast feeding, canada, dairy share, facebook, milk, southern ontario, technology