Breast Milk for Sale or Donation? Commercial Distribution Killing Non-Profit Milk Banks

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Physicians have always been avid supporters of breast milk, and Americans are now jumping into the bandwagon. Breast milk and breastfeeding have garnered rising support in the United States.  

According to CNN Money, even though plenty of mothers want to breastfeed their babies, not a lot of them can for certain reasons. As a result, the business sector has found that distributing breast milk can be very lucrative.

As of late, both commercial and non-profit milk banks charge hospitals from about $4-$6 for an ounce of breast milk. At those prices, CNN estimates that breast milk costs 40 times more than cow's milk and three times more than milk formula. 

Currently, both for-profit and non-profit milk banks supply breast milk to newborns in hospitals. Most of the supply is given to newborns who have health risks, specifically those in NICUs, or neonatal intensive care units.

There is high demand for breast milk in America, it seems, but not enough supply. Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter of the American Academy of Pediatrics shared her thoughts on the growing demand for breast milk.

She said: "If every premature baby in every NICU received exclusive breast milk—that's 100% milk from donor banks—I'm not sure there would actually be enough donor milk to go around. Due to the lack of breast milk supply, competition between for-profit companies and non-profit organization milk banks has been strained.

Since milk banks are booming, the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), a non-profit organization, is having a difficult time keeping up with the demand. 

HMBANA is having a difficult time in fulfilling the demand for breast milk because the organization runs on donors, reports Kfor. Getting donors has been a big problem for the organization, especially since companies that commercially distribute breast milk are paying women for theirs.

CNN states that one commercial milk bank in particular, Medolac, actually pays donors $2 for every ounce of breast milk they provide. Critics predict that because of this, women are more likely to donate to commercial milk banks rather than non-profit banks.

Elena Medo, the founder of Medolac, said "I think the biggest concern is a for-profit company would somehow take advantage of mothers or create a situation where mothers would have too much incentive to donate."

There is no surprise that support for beast milk has increased of late, since there are many health benefits to drinking it. For instance, breastfeeding can help fight allergies in the future, according to Baby Center.

Fit Pregnancy adds that breast milk can also reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS.