Everybody knows that breast milk is the best for babies because it protects them against diseases and infections. However, if you are thinking about buying breast milk from the internet, you could do more harm than good because it may lead to illnesses.
Test the Products
The specialists interested in the quality of the milk available on the market have found that about 75% of all the tested samples contained harmful bacteria which causes different diseases. Furthermore, in some cases the researchers have found milk infested with feces.
A New Market
According to the specialists selling milk on the internet has gained a lot of popularity lately. In 2011 there have been over 13,000 postings published on sites handling breast milk. The specialists warn the parents thinking about making purchases of this kind that the products they get could be harmful to their babies.
The Study
In order to find out whether the breast milk available on the internet is good for babies or not, the participants bought milk from different sites. They only bought milk from the sellers who didn’t require any information about the baby that will receive the milk or any other information before the purchase is made.
Harmful Bacteria
The truth is that the specialists were surprised to find that 74% of the samples tested contained harmful bacteria and even Gram-negative bacteria which may result in meningitis or pneumonia. Besides this, 64% of the samples also contained staphylococcus, which can cause septicemia and skin abscess.
Salmonella
As surprising as it may sound, in some cases the researchers found salmonella in the breast milk. In other cases the milk has been contaminated with feces. The specialists admit that they didn’t expect to find so many infections. Most probably these are the result of poor hand hygiene.
It is Not Safe
The study shows clearly that it is not safe to buy breast milk from the internet because the shipping and storage is not suitable for such products, not to mention that there is no available information regarding the hygiene and the health of the donor. The specialists have also learned that the longer the shipping process takes, the more likely it is for the milk to be contaminated.
For sure you don’t want anything to happen to your baby because of the milk that you buy. If you have to choose between milk that you buy and formula, go for formula.
