This is a question that many moms don’t even think twice about. Why would you let your baby drink someone else’s breastmilk? Is breastfeeding that important to you that you would be willing to use someone else’s milk? Well, if you think these questions might be a bit crazy – think of this: If your baby drinks cow’s or goat’s milk, or drinks formula made from cow’s milk, then they are already drinking someone else’s breastmilk, right?
I learned about milk donation shortly after I had my little girl. I had a huge stock of frozen milk that I just kept adding to, but never used. I researched what I should do with it, and although I know the right answer may have been to just feed it to my baby, I thought it was best to give her fresh milk as long as I had it coming in. One option I found out about was breastmilk donation. I thought it would be great to donate my milk to a mom who’s baby would benefit from all the great things breastmilk had to offer. I read about milk banks and was a little turned off by the idea at that point. Milk banks charge A LOT to moms who want to purchase milk from other moms. The reason they charge a lot is because they need to store the milk and pasteurize it. Pasteurizing breastmilk kills all the good nutrients in the milk itself. All I wanted to do was donate my milk to a mom for free. Why should someone in need have to pay an arm and a leg to keep their baby healthy? It just didn’t make sense.
Recently I came across milk exchanges where moms can meet other local moms to exchange milk for free. I think this is a great idea for anyone interested in donating or receiving milk for their baby. I love the idea of it – you find someone in your area, decide on a place and time to meet, and bring along one of the best gifts you can give someone! It’s that easy. You can find local milk donation communities on Facebook and by doing an online search.
Have you ever exchanged breastmilk with another mama?