Growing numbers of women are ordering breast milk over the internet – but a public health expert warned today of the lack of controls over the trade.
Dr Sarah Steele, of Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, UK, says that the benefits of breast milk for babies are firmly established, and many new mothers find it difficult or are unable to breastfeed. But the rapidly-growing online market for human breast milk carries risks, she says.
In today’ the BMJ, Dr Steele warns that sellers can cut corners to save on costs such as pasteurization, testing for disease and contamination, and the appropriate collection, storage and shipping of milk.
She highlights recent research showing that milk bought online often has bacterial growth due to lack of pasteurization and poor shipping and storage. For example, one study showed that 92 out of 101 samples had bacterial growth.
The milk should be screened for diseases including hepatitis B and C, HIV and human T cell lymphotropic virus and syphilis, she adds.
"In the absence of warnings about the dangers of buying milk online, this option might seem healthy and beneficial – the better choice if one can’t breast feed oneself?" Dr Steele writes. "What mothers, and many healthcare workers, don’t realise is that this market is dangerous, putting infant health at risk."
Health care workers should increase their awareness of the market and how it operates, she recommends, so that they can pass good information on to caregivers.
"Trusts and professional groups need to formulate their responses to this growing market and to supply accurate information to health care providers and service users. New mothers experiencing difficulties breast feeding, and those who cannot breast feed, can learn of options that are much safer than the online market in breast milk."
Steele, S. et al. Risks of the unregulated market in human breast milk. BMJ 25 March 2015 doi: 10.1136/bmj.h1485 [abstract]
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