Breast Cancer Survivor wants to Breastfeed her baby

[HaveKids,LostMind]

I thought this was a very touching story. This woman has survived breast cancer and a double mastectomy. She is pregnant with the baby due any day now and she is dead set of breastfeeding the baby! I think that is so cool that's she's so determined!


http://www.feedmybaby.com

[cch]

I read this on another board. She'll actually accept breastmilk from other people, they just have to pass the screening.

[Dolly<3]

Awww...
It's cool that they have milk banks like that. I hope she can feed her baby for as long as he's on milk. :)

[bngomom]

Seems kinda selfish to me. They should be thankful that she can have a child instead of asking people to help pay $104 per day for breast milk. This is a slap in the face to all mothers who don't breast feed.

[teddy2948]

She addresses the issue for those mothers who don't breastfeed. I don't really think she's trying to slam mother's who don't breastfeed. Its amazing that they can even do things like for women who have been in her circumstances.

Disclaimer: This site is in NO way trying to make mother’s that choose to formula feed their infants feel bad. I just know that I personally would feel guilty for not at least trying to feed my baby human milk for as long as I could to afford to. As soon as I run out of funds I will be switching to formula. I know that many infants thrive on a formula diet and that the most important thing I can provide my baby is LOTS of LOVE!!! Cancer took away my ability to breastfeed, but not by my choice so I want to provide this for my baby if at all possible!

[HaveKids,LostMind]

Actually, I personally know this woman and she is not selfish at all. She has over come breast cancer and miraculously became pregnant right afterwards. Why is she selfish to want to give her child what every other mother can give theirs? She's not letting this horrible cancer win and keep herfrom doing what comes natural for everyone else.

And I bottle fed all of my kids from 2 weeks on. And I dont see it as an insult at all. I think it is wonderful!


Originally posted by bngomom
Seems kinda selfish to me. They should be thankful that she can have a child instead of asking people to help pay $104 per day for breast milk. This is a slap in the face to all mothers who don't breast feed.

[Thesassy1]

Wow....I kind of find it odd she wants to feed her child other womens breast milk. It's a lot safer & less expensive to feed the baby formula.

I have also had a double Mastectomy. If I was to get pregnant. I would never feed my baby someone's breast milk. Hey, That's just me. To each is their own.

Aside from that, I'm glad she survived & was able to bear a child...Good Luck to your friend. =)

[jdglmg]

I had problems breastfeeding my second baby and I tried everything to keep it going. I was able to breast feed him until he was 6 months old. (I had to supplement with formula so he would gain weight.) I definitely would have considered using milk from a milk bank instead of formula if I had known it was available and if it had been affordable! I don't think it's weird at all!

[twinkiesmom]

JMO because I formula fed my kids anyway. I couldn't breast feed because I was on anti-seizure meds at the time. I would have to say that I'd feel safer w/formula vs someone elses breast milk. Obviously mothers are selling it to a bank. For money I'm sure. First thing I thought of . . . If they aren't feeding their kids w/it to begin with, they are selling it for money for what. Drugs? JMO - u never know who's cocaine laced milk u'd get. Sure they're screened to begin with. But who's to say what the mother had the nite before she lactated into a bottle just to give it to the bank?

[Thesassy1]

I agree Twinkiesmom.....I wouldn't trust the screenings. People still get HIV & other illnesses from blood that is screened.

I wouldn't take any chances with my baby. I'd use formula, i'd kick myself in the ass if I was to buy breast milk & it be contaminated due to someone's careless screening.

[Angelseyes28]

I'm sorry but the though of giving my child some other womans milk just grosses me out. I know that's what wet nurses were for back in the day, but it still grosses me out lol.

[HaveKids,LostMind]

They thoroughly test the milk. They test for all kinds of stuff, its all there on the website. There's no chance of any "cocaine" coming up in the milk.

And I wouldnt do this, I just thought it was so great for her to be so determined to do what nature intended, even though it seemed impossible.

[cch]

All donors to HMBANA member milk banks undergo a screening process that begins with a short interview over the telephone. Donor mothers are women who are currently lactating and have surplus milk. Donor mothers must be:
In good general health
Willing to undergo a blood test (at the milk bank's expense)
Not regularly using medication or herbal supplements (with the exception of progestin-only birth control pills or injections, Synthroid, insulin, pre-natal vitamins; there are other exceptions, please contact a milk bank for more information)
Willing to donate at least 100 ounces of milk
A woman would not be a suitable donor if:
She has a positive blood test result for HIV, HTLV, Hepatitis B or C, or Syphilis
She or her sexual partner is at risk for HIV
She uses illegal drugs
She smokes or uses tobacco products
She has received an organ or tissue transplant or a blood transfusion in the last 6 months
She regularly has more than two alcoholic drinks per day
She has been in the United Kingdom for more than 3 months or in Europe for more than 5 years between 1980-1996
She was born in or has traveled to Gabon, Niger, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, or Equatorial Guinea