In a message dated 1/28/2006 10:19:02 AM Eastern Standard Time, AnnMBP  
writes:

Nikki, and others, I ask this question: with your worries of informal  milk 
sharing how many mothers are breastfeeding their own children with HIV or  
HTLV-1?  



Dear Friends:
    Ann poses a good question. I am sure the answer is  yes, that there are 
women breastfeeding with these viruses. And there isn't  anything we can do 
about it. And that is one reason that donor milk is  pasteurized.
    However, when we, as healthcare professionals and  knowledgeable people, 
are asked our opinion, we have to consider  the minimum standards of safety in 
our answer.
    Can you imagine how breastfeeding in the  US would be set back if one 
case of serious disease is linked to informal  milk sharing?
    Lawrence and Lawrence discuss this issue; if  mothers want to share milk, 
they are advised to get blood tests, and no  healthcare professional can be 
the agent of arrangement.
    Would you use your best friend's toothbrush? Or her  husband's?
    If not, then how could one share milk without some  precaution? At a 
microbiological level, there isn't much difference.
    warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE
Maternal-Child Adjunct  Faculty Union Institute and University
Film Reviews Editor, Journal of Human  Lactation
www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com

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