Whether to ensure an infant’s survival following the death or illness of its mother, or as part of a wet-nursing arrangement, sharing breast milk has long been acceptable, if not lifesaving. But, over the last 5-10 years, a new kind of milk-sharing economy has emerged – one that magnifies certain risks to recipient infants.
COLUMBUS – For millennia, infants have sometimes been fed another mother’s breast milk. Whether to ensure the infant’s survival following the death or illness of its own mother, or as part of a wet-nursing arrangement (common for high-status families in some cultures), sharing breast milk has long been acceptable, if not lifesaving. But, over the last 5-10 years, a new kind of Internet-fueled milk-sharing economy has emerged – one that magnifies certain risks to recipient infants.
COLUMBUS – For millennia, infants have sometimes been fed another mother’s breast milk. Whether to ensure the infant’s survival following the death or illness of its own mother, or as part of a wet-nursing arrangement (common for high-status families in some cultures), sharing breast milk has long been acceptable, if not lifesaving. But, over the last 5-10 years, a new kind of Internet-fueled milk-sharing economy has emerged – one that magnifies certain risks to recipient infants.