Oh yes, these things happen, I expect that if we did a survey of all of the
mother-to-mother support orgs we'd find that the same sort of stories (I can
tick off 5 or 6 of the ones you describe as things I've heard of happening
with the ABA helpline) but I don't think that the informal milk sharing
network on Facebook is anywhere like as organised and there's no where near
the number of contacts that someone on a breastfeeding helpline would get.
My understanding is that it's more of a movement than a organisation...we've
not yet really seen anything like this set up before in the area of
breastfeeding. I am sure though that there are other areas though where
social networking has been used in a similar way (and maybe some of the more
social networking savvy Lactnetters might be able to share- I certainly
don't get beyond the very basics!).
As for the already existing milk banks. I don't see this sort of thing as
anything like a threat- the number of banks is massively dwarfed by the
number of potential donors while a restrictive donor profile prevents many
women from being able to donate.
If you've got an organisation, you need policies and procedures. If there's
no organisation then it really is up to the individual (and lets face it no
breastfeeding org has been willing to go near facilitating informal milk
sharing and some go so far as to have a policy against it- not my org I'm
glad to say- and no country has an adequate formal milk banking system).
There's any number of situations in life in which unpleasant, difficult,
even tragic consequences can result from decisions to be involved in the
lives of others. Some choose to take that risk, others not. It's OK to
choose not to be involved but choosing to be involved is OK too. And not
every relationship needs regulation.
Karleen Gribble
Australia
-----Original Message-----
From: Lactation Information and Discussion
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of heather
Sent: Tuesday, 23 November 2010 10:39 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: FDA and milk banking
Karleen writes:
>There are risks involved for all. But that's life really and it's clearly
up
>to individuals to decide what risks they are willing to take and how they
>might manage them.
I agree that the volunteer donors need to know the risks, but it is
not fair to ask an *individual* to manage something upsetting,
threatening, or simply massively inconvenient.
In every context I have worked in (helplines, talkboards) something
of this sort has happened, and there have either been protocols in
place, or else we have had to develop them so they are used the next
time something happens (and it does....). The organisation takes the
burden of managing the risk from the individual, and thus keeps her
and her family safe.
OK, let's spell it out. Yes, I *am* hard bitten by what I have seen
and had to deal with on behalf of others - others who are working as
volunteers, in their own homes, out of kindness and goodwill. They
have to deal with the people who pretend to have a baby (there is no
baby); the people who pretend to be a concerned father (ditto); the
men who pretend to be women (we had a very persistent caller like
this - it was not a woman with an unusually deep voice, believe me);
the person who threatens suicide (that was horrible - it was on a
talkboard); the person who threatens to abandon their baby or to harm
their baby; the men who try to get into a conversation about
breastfeeding older children; the caller who rings someone's home
repeatedly at anti-social times, waking her family; the very abusive
caller; the obscene caller.
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