Just my two cents

This is just one of several articles I have read about cross-nursing. Cross-nursing is having someone, other than the mother, nurse a baby. It is better known as being a wet-nurse. In the past, it was a common practice. Even when my boys were babies and I was nursing, there were breast milk banks. You could pump your breasts and sell or donate the excess to these banks.

I am a strong advocate for breast-feeding. I nursed both my boys and was very active in La Leche League. I know the benefits of breast milk, I do believe that "breast is best." That said, I am appalled that this practice is being encouraged by parenting magazines. I do not find the idea of cross-nursing to be offensive or weird, but possibly dangerous. Breast milk is a bodily fluid, it is as capable of transmitting disease as blood or semen. Having someone else nurse your baby is akin to allowing a blood transfusion with untested blood. Not everyone that is infected with a disease knows it. Not everyone realizes the danger of disease transmission. Besides disease, breast milk can also be contaminated with any drugs that the woman might be taking. Some of these are dangerous to babies, even with the small amounts that may be delivered through breast milk.

I do not care if someone is your best friend. That does not mean that their milk is safe. It is very easy to pump breast milk and store it for use when you are separated from your baby. In the rare event that a mother does not produce enough milk, formula is a safe alternative, but there are ways to increase milk production. Formula has not always been available. When nursing was the only way to feed a baby, a wet-nurse may have been a necessity. Times have changed. Just as we have to be careful to protect ourselves from communicable diseases, we must also protect our children.

I do seem to be easily riled and appalled lately. This does often happen when I read too much news.