Answer from a Dutch LC ;-) No, Dutch people do not cross-nurse frequently, actually there is great discussion even within breastfeeding advocate circles wether cross nursing is a good option. And yes, Dutch people, too, may find breastmilk to be a bodily fluid or excretion and very much object to having to have a drink of it (but are happy to feed their precious babies with it). And no, we don't have any sort of human milk banking system. Only a few weeks ago a very enthousiastic mom started the Moedermelk Netwerk (Mother's Milk Network) on the internet, a place where MM donors and mom's who need donormilk for their infants can meet ans match. But sending a woman to jail for three years for taking another woman's child at breast: I know what most people's reaction around her will be: ''crazy folks, those Americans!'' (no offence meant) People might not agree with her choice of calming unhappy infants in her care, people might think she'd better ask before doing so, but bringing such an issue to court... I wonder if you could find any Dutch court that would take on a case like this. Warmly, Gonneke, Dutch IBCLC, living in Germany, teaching in Belgium LACTNET automatic digest system <[log in to unmask]> wrote: This woman is from Holland. Although I am sure not every woman cross-nurses in the Netherlands, I think it very plausible that more do than in North America, and that it is not met with the consternation that it is so often here in N.A. To illustrate this I take note of the dire warnings that representatives of some milk banking and breastfeeding advocacy organizations have issued regarding cross-nursing; I see these warnings as important but somewhat sterner than necessary and certainly not as encouraging of the practice, a practice which could be very empowering for mothers. Being of Dutch descent and perhaps of a rebellious nature, she perhaps thought a little breastfeeding wouldn't hurt, why not calm this crying child in such an easy manner? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html