Relative risk is something most of us have very little grasp of (just look
at the world of finance these days!).

I wonder what the occurrence of dangerous infective agents is in the pool of
women who are using the internet, the pool of women who are using the
internet and bearing children, the pool of internet-using childbearing women
who are lactating, the pool of internet-using childbearing women who are
lactating, the pool of internet-using childbearing women who are lactating
and seeking to distribute their milk, and the pool of internet-using women
who are childbearing, lactating, and seeking to distribute their milk for
just the cost of shipping. Each subset, I suspect, shrinks the risk by an
order of magnitude or more.

Is an internet-using, childbearing, lactating, altruistic,  woman ignorant
of her infection any more likely than, say, a formula factory manager who
wants to adjust the product's protein test with melamine?  Or a formula
factory worker who doesn't disinfect every piece of equipment perfectly
every time?  And if several such women do exist, how many babies are
affected by a given donation?

Ruth Piatak, BA, MS, LLL Leader


Date:    Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:10:00 +1000
From:    Virginia Thorley <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Despite health risks, some people continue to buy and sell breast
milk online

On Sat, 27 Feb 2010 Karleen Gribble wrote:
Subject:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/despite-health-risks-so
me-people-continue-to-buy-and-sell-breast-milk-online-85550212.html


Just wanted to do a bit of editing...."Despite health risks women continue
to buy and use formula"
When pigs fly maybe?
Karleen Gribble
Australia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, Karleen, there is certainly a lot wrong with the title of that media
article from Winnipeg.  Apart from the obvious, I notice also that the
headline *contradicts* the text of the article, where it is stated that is
cow's milk proteins that are risky for this baby boy.  Now that rules out
most artificial baby milks!  Soy could be risky, too, if he is one of those
individuals who also react to soy.

There is so much emphasis placed on risk management and safety in relation
to both formal milk banks and informal arrangements, that sometimes I wonder
if the greater risks of artificial feeding are being forgotten?  The
regrettable perception seems to be that human milk has serious disease
risks, while artificial infant milk is sanctified and pure and "safe".
Grrrr! When advocating for safety in milk banking, it is so important to
place this in the context of the reason why milk banking is important - that
alternative foods pose risks, especially to premature or sick babies.

Virginia
Dr Virginia Thorley, OAM, PhD, IBCLC, FILCA
Brisbane, Qld, Australia
E: [log in to unmask]

--
Ruth Piatak
La Leche League of Pearland, Texas
281-332-1673

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