Breastfeeding, Cross-Nursing and Wet Nurses

In a national poll on the US on the popular mom's website MomsLikeMe, approximately 1500 women cast their vote to allow/not allow another woman to breastfeed their child. Over 67% said that they would not, "No way" was the response. However, among over 120 comments and interviews on the subject, many women said that they would be willing to nurse another woman's child. Some felt that if it was needed, fine, others stated that in case of emergency, illness, injury or allergies they would be willing to nurse another woman's child.

But while many were willing to nurse another child, not so many moms were ready to let that happen. Among those that said that they would allow another woman to breast feed their child they agreed that:

They would prefer that it was a family member, like a sister, or a very close friend.

That they would prefer that the breast milk was pumped and bottle fed.

That if they (the mother) were dead or incapable because of extreme circumstances then it may be acceptable. Other extreme circumstances could include natural disasters.

However, many of the respondents indicated, "Why, since formula is available?"

Selma Hayek nurses in Sierra Leone

Selma Hayek raised a few eyebrows and caused a disturbance in the cyber world of parenting when during a humanitarian effort trip to Sierra Leone she nursed a "very hungry baby boy" born on the same day as her daughter. When asked why she said she did it in an effort to "diminish the stigma" placed on nursing mothers in Sierra Leone where husbands often discourage breastfeeding because it is not acceptable to have sexual relations with a nursing mother. Many advocates of breastfeeding would say that could partially explain why this country has the highest infant mortality rate in the world, and doctors there say it's partially due to malnutrition.

Strangely enough, in US history many slave women were forced to be a "wet nurse" providing breastfeeding services to the slave owner's family as well as her own. Victorian era women also hired wet nurses for a variety of reasons. But Hayek didn't find nursing another child so strange at all, as she shared with a Nightline anchor the story of her great grandmother saving a stranger's starving baby's life by nursing it.

Cross-Nursing and Wet Nurses

In some countries, like parts of Asia and Africa it is acceptable and often expected to help another mother out with nursing her child and yours too. After all isn't it an old African proverb that "It takes a village to raise a child?"

In Michigan, when one mother died due to an amniotic fluid embolism 25 mothers in this family's community worked out a nursing "schedule" taking turns coming to the house and breastfeeding the newborn little boy until his first birthday. The father of little Charles Moses , who took a leave of absence from his job as a professor at Northern Michigan University says, ""it seemed like the right thing to do for Moses, not only to kick start his good health, but also for the nurturing, the being held for hours and hours. It turned out that having moms and kids come to the house was great for Julia, too, and it was good for me -- that support."

Play group politics met allegations of child abuse when some members of a Melbourne, Australia "mommy's group" decided to share babysitting and breastfeeding purposes. However, authorities there don't disagree as to the benefits of "cross nursing" and The Australian Breastfeeding Association says "it supports cross-feeding if all parties are aware of possible risks and informed consent is given." "Wet nursing was very common hundreds of years ago," ABA spokeswoman Carey Wood said, adding "breast milk banks offered milk screening." Other advocates of cross nursing admit that it's not wide spread that that "with busy lives, mums returning to work, health issues and a growing acceptance that 'breast is best" there are many reasons for supporting this issue.

Breast Milk Banks

In a world were surrogate mothers and sperm donations are available in order to help couples have children, could the availability of breast milk to feed children be next?

It may not be too far into the future. In France and England, there are actual employment agencies for wet nurses as well as positions within hospitals. One Beverly Hills California agency (Certified Housing Staff) offers "certified domestic staff" including wet nurse services. The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) was established in 1985 as a nonprofit organization to set standards for breast milk pumping, storing and ordering of donor milk.

According to the FDA Pediatric Advisory Committee informal sharing of human milk is "unsafe," however, it endorses the use of donor human milk banking. On December 6, 2010, during a meeting of national experts including the HMBANA met to discuss the "safety, ethics, and regulatory implications of donor human milk." Minutes of the meeting are available on the FDA website.

If you are interested in donating your breast milk or obtaining breast milk for your child, there are HMBANA locations across the United States. For other information and resources you can also visit the National Milk Bank which is designed to help infants in need, premature, or critically ill infants by providing breast milk to them through confidential placements and donations.

Sources:

Personal Experience/Interviews

MomsLikeMe.com

ABC.com

Herald Sun

Birth Story

Certified Housing Staff

FDA