Green Options

Breastfeeding can be a hardcore subject.  If you nurse your baby, for how long? If you don’t, why not? If you do breastfeed, are you allowed to do it in public?

But one thing that most breastfeeders don’t think of is this: Would you donate your breastmilk?

Breastmilk donation came in my mind again when I wrote the blog about Salma Hayek breastfeeding an infant in Sierra Leone while on a vaccination (tetanus) campaign. And when I read about Nadya Suleman breastfeeding her octuplets, I wondered: If we’re not naturally meant to give birth to this many babies, will she be able to keep her supply up? Or will she have to turn to milk donations?

Breast milk is the best food for babies.

Or is it?

Nursing your baby has numerous benefits, including decreased risks for allergies, diabetes, cancer, infections, and arthritis.

Colostrum, which comes in before the milk does, is the first food a newborn gets, and it passes on antibodies (immunoglobulin A) and leukocytes (which destroy disease-causing bacteria and viruses), and it also seals the infant’s highly permeable digestive tract with a barrier which prevents foreign substances from penetrating it. It is a safe and natural vaccine, the way that nature intended it.

However, pesticides, heavy metals, and other persistent organic pollutants accumulate in human milk, leading some researchers to question whether the risks of exposure to pollutants in breast milk outweigh the benefits.

Ice cream made from breast milk would benefit both cows and humans, according to a letter sent from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream:

If Ben and Jerry’s replaced the cow’s milk in its ice cream with breast milk, your customers-and cows-would reap the benefits.

Using cow’s milk for your ice cream is a hazard to your customer’s health. Dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, constipation, obesity, and prostate and ovarian cancer. The late Dr. Benjamin Spock, America’s leading authority on child care, spoke out against feeding cow’s milk to children, saying it may play a role in anemia, allergies, and juvenile diabetes and in the long term, will set kids up for obesity and heart disease-America’s number one cause of death.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has teamed up with X-Files star Gillian Anderson (Agent Scully) to urge celebrities, such as Tom Cruise and Heidi Klum, to boycott designer Giorgio Armani, who they are accusing of going back on his word to stop using fur.

PETA sent letters to a number of celebrities who have worn Armani in the past urging them to boycott the designer. In the letter to Tom Cruise, PETA’s Vice President made particular note of Cruise’s daughter, Suri, saying:

“Please be vigilant about any packages that Armani sends for Suri, as they could include bunny fur from his toddler lines.”

Any mother can tell you the benefits of breastfeeding, but scientists recently discovered stem cells in human breast milk. Stem cell research and treatments using embryonic stem cells, which are more versatile than adult stem cells, is controversial. An embryonic stem cell can produce cells for almost any tissue in the body, whereas adult stem cells are more specific to blood and skin types. The discovery of stem cells in breast milk may alleviate the controversy of using embryonic stem cells, if breast milk stem cells behave in the same versatile manner. Stem cell research shows they are promising at treating spinal injuries, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

Perth scientist Dr Mark Cregan made the world’s first discovery of breast milk stem cells. He believes this is just the tip of the iceberg in discovering the benefits and potency of baby’s first food.

It is setting the baby up for the perfect development. We already know that babies who are breast fed have an IQ advantage and that there’s a raft of other health benefits. Researchers also believe that the protective effects of being breast fed continue well into adult life. The point is that many mothers see milks as identical – formula milk and breast milk look the same so they must be the same. But we know now that they are quite different and a lot of the effects of breast milk versus formula don’t become apparent for decades. Formula companies have focussed on matching breast milk’s nutritional qualities but formula can never provide the developmental guidance.