Janice wrote:

>
>Just as there is a possibility for bad outcomes or abuse, there is
>possibility for positive and amazing relationships to be formed.  I choose
>to live with a world view that there are more positive possibilities than
>negative ones, and it is worth the risk.  These women are the same, they
>will not allow the fear of a few fetishists prevent them from helping the
>many babies that need the milk.


Janice and others - I am *not* against facilitation of milk sharing.

Bad things will happen and most grown up people accept this.

What I *am* saying is that any organisation needs to prepare for 
this, and not expect individuals to manage, on their own,  the 
inevitable  fall-out of the bad things.

***This is not the same as taking control of mother's milk, or 
ownership of it, or doing anything that would undermine women's own 
choice and power.***

I see nothing in the publicity about this movement that acknowledges 
the need for support for volunteers and when needed, intervention.

Or, when things go wrong the other way - a recipient mother is let 
down by a donor in some way - the recipient needs back-up and someone 
to complain to.  All this protects the integrity of the service to 
donors and volunteers.

None of this is difficult, though it does require more than a 
website, enthusiasm and a whole load of cheer-leading . It does take 
some thought snd reflection.

>The milk belongs to the mothers.  I see this as a basic feminist
>issue.

So do I.

I want a collectivist, communitarian approach, which actually 
*manages* the safety and integrity of the service - volunteers are 
more than a bunch of individuals.

Vicky suggested I thought  "we should only get milk from milk banks 
at $3-$5 per ounce and let the babies settle for formula otherwise."

That is a million, zillion,  miles from what I think :)

Happily, banked breastmilk is *free* to mothers and babies  in the 
UK.  No one would dream of charging for it. Our milk banks 
association relies a lot on volunteers, and accepts charitable 
donations, it  operates alongside our *free* national health service 
http://www.ukamb.org/about.html .  I would like to see UK milk 
banking expand so more mothers and babies get the breastmilk they 
need.

This should be the case everywhere  mothers and babies need it and 
would be a useful campaign.

Vicky adds:

>  EOF is not an organization. It is
>nothing other than a network of pages, providing a space for  people 
>to connect.

Yes, precisely.

That's just not enough, IMO.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK
-- 
http://www.heatherwelford.co.uk

http://heatherwelford.posterous.com

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