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I would be scared if that happened to my baby. Like you said, there is the potential for disease transmission. And I would be pissed that they tried to cover it up.

But really?

That is an awful thing to say.

Formula is absolutely not supposed to be given to babies unless the mother cannot breastfeed for medical reasons. It says that right on the canisters and in fine print on the commercials.

When a mother cannot breastfeed, she has a hard choice to make. She can do formula or she can use another woman's breast milk. If the mother can get another woman's safe and screened breast milk, that is usually the healthier option.

It is not gross. It is screened for disease. So I think it's appalling that your friend would say that and would say she wouldn't even consider giving her baby another woman's breast milk simply because she finds the completely safe, natural, and healthy option to be "gross."

Not to mention that babies are ideally supposed to be breastfed. That means drinking breast milk from a breast, not a bottle. Bottle feeding is bad for their mouth and jaw.

So I don't doubt that your friend loves her baby. But she really should get her facts straight about neonatal nutrition and development before she goes around saying ridiculous and offensive things and not even doing what is recommended for her baby's health to begin with.

Is she even sure it's really her baby at this point?

Yeah, that's the way I meant it =P It really is the principal of the thing that matters in this case. If they can't keep track of something as simple as who's breast milk is who's, then how can you expect them to take care of important things? What is one of the babies has an allergy and they get the wrong food that has an allergen in it? You can't just go switching things up like that without permission, this could have been a lot more serious than another woman's breast milk.

Maybe it was an overreaction to say anyone else's milk is "gross" but I don't think it's "offensive", it's understandable that she was upset, this wasn't a planned donation of carefully screened milk, it was some random stranger's milk. It could have had ANYTHING in it. What if the baby was allergic to lactose and needed special formula and had been given the milk? What I find ridiculous is when people get so opinionated and judgmental about what other people choose to feed their own babies.

But she didn't say that what happened was gross. I would have understood if she had that.

She said it's gross when people feed their baby donated, screened, and safe milk. That's out of line and ignorant.


What babies are fed is extremely important. Babies need breast milk if they can get it, and they need it from a breast if at all possible.

Formula has been linked to a wide variety of health problems and should only be used when there are no other safe options (some women can't breastfeed due to disease, medication, not producing enough milk, etc). And bottles (even when filled with breast milk) don't give the same benefits (jaw development, mouth and tongue control, etc.) as breasts.

So people are right to judge women who physically could breastfeed yet choose not to. Because those women are putting their baby's health at risk for their own personal convenience.

What bothers me about this woman is that she's judging other people and calling them gross when they're doing the healthiest option available to them. And what she is doing is not the healthiest option. If she is physically able to give her baby breast milk from her breast, not from a bottle, then that is what she needs to be doing.

Im sure she didnt really mean gross,thats just what came out,cause we actually talked about it,shes very upset about the situation,and to her,she doesnt want other womans breast milk in her baby,especially if she doesnt know where it comes from,and what if any diseases the woman had. She does understand why its done,she DOES breast feed Julien when she can,but her maternity leave is up,and she was forced to go back to work,so she pumps it for when shes at work,and breast feeds him at home.

Some mothers have to work or go to school, or have other responsibilities outside the home. That's just the way it is. Do you really think that if you become a mother and are able to breastfeed that there will be no time when it may become necessary to pump milk and feed it from a bottle? You are NEVER going to leave the child with a sitter, even a close relative, for a few hours? Good for you. Myself, I can't have babies. If I ever did decide I wanted to be a mother, I would have to adopt. Since there are only 11 milk banks in North America, you need a prescription to get the milk, and it can cost $4 an OZ. , I'd probably have to resort to formula.