Breast Milk Is Teeming With Bacteria — That’s Good for the Baby

Breast-fed milk may nourish a baby’s microbiome in ways that bottled breast milk can’t.

 Breast milk market is booming online – it’s unregulated, might make your baby sick, but entirely legal

For parents who want their child to have breast milk, but are unable produce it themselves, being able to buy it on the internet might seem like a hopeful solution. Many families might want to feed their infant breast milk for a number of reasons, such as improving their child’s immune system. This might lead families to turn to online forums or Facebook groups to find women selling their breast milk. But the dark side of this online trade is that not only are there no laws restricting the sale of breast milk online – it’s also unregulated in the UK and Ireland. This leaves parents vulnerable to buying breast milk that is substandard or dangerous for consumption by their child.

 Don’t Buy Breast Milk Off The Internet

Experts say the industry needs a lot more regulation to make sure the milk is safe for babies.

 Go Ahead, Try to Explain Milk

No one can define it, much less fully replicate it.

 How to Donate Breast Milk

Milk banks are looking for frozen, excess milk. Donating yours can help prevent deaths in N.I.C.U.s

 Where a Miracle Substance Called Breast Milk Saves Lives

How breast-feeding transforms the lives of malnourished children in Guatemala and around the world.

Are breast milk stem cells the real deal for medicine?

PROTEINS, carbohydrates and vitamins are all on the menu for a breastfed baby. Now it seems you can add stem cells to that list. Evidence is piling up that both breast milk and breast tissue contain embryonic-like stem cells.

Breast Milk Bought Online Has High Levels Of Bacteria

Three-quarters of the website-purchased breast milk contained Gram-negative bacteria, which can cause infections. That's compared to 35 percent of the milk bank samples. The purchased milk also contained more coliform bacteria, which are typically found in feces. There were also higher levels of Staphylococcus and Streptococcus, bacteria found on the skin that are usually harmless.

Breast milk is best for new babies but it’s not the ‘pure’ food we thought

A Harvard University researcher last week suggested western women stop breastfeeding after a couple of months to reduce the risk of passing potentially harmful toxins on to their infants via breast milk. But while babies may receive chemicals and allergens in breast milk, it doesn’t mean breastfeeding is unsafe. For most women, breast milk is the best food for new babies.

Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding

Choosing whether to breastfeed or formula feed their baby is one of the biggest decisions expectant and new parents will make.

Human breast milk may help babies tell time via circadian signals from mom

Human breast milk is more than a meal – it’s also a clock, providing time-of-day information to infants. The composition of breast milk changes across the day, giving energizing morning milk a different cocktail of ingredients than soothing evening milk. Researchers believe this “chrononutrition” may help program infants’ emerging circadian biology, the internal timekeeper that allows babies to distinguish day from night. What happens, though, when babies drink milk that does not come directly from the breast, but is pumped at different times of day and stored in advance of feeding? Scientists have rarely considered the potential effects of “mistimed” milk on infants’ development, but the implications are potentially far-reaching.

I Drank My Friend's Breast Milk Every Day for a Week

It didn't feel right to steal from a baby.

Many Drugs Found Safe for Breast-Feeding Mothers

Breast-feeding mothers can take most prescription drugs without risking their babies' health, though they should try to avoid certain painkillers, psychiatric drugs and herbal treatments, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a report.

Stop Saying Breast Milk Is Free

Our workplace structures make nursing extremely costly to women and fail to recognize its monetary value.

Uncovering the deeper secrets of every mother’s breast milk

Investigating the make up and composition of breast milk has been a critical part of understanding how newborn babies build their immune systems and ward off disease later in life.

A Bold and Controversial Idea for Making Breast Milk

The obsession with breastfeeding has inspired a start-up to make human milk outside the human body.

A pasteurisation machine for breast milk

It will help Bangladeshi mothers who work in factories.

An unscientific debate over breast milk is spilling into food banks

An overzealous push for breastfeeding is affecting availability of baby formula in food banks, worsening problems for the poorest people,

Babies Could Be Drinking Lab-Grown Breast Milk by 2021

A Singapore-based startup is focusing on breast milk for now but also plans to develop lab-grown alternatives for the dairy industry.

Should Breast Milk Be Nutritionally Analyzed?

Some scientists doubt the need for a checkup

The Science of Breast Milk

There is an abundance of research demonstrating that one’s breast milk is individualized and unique. Comparisons between mothers have consistently shown differences in milk composition in terms of the levels of beneficial nutrients -- and harmful toxins.