Ten Percent of Breast Milk Bought Online Contains Cow’s Milk
Ten Percent of breast milk bought online contains cow’s milk – A new study suggests buying breast milk online in order to nourish a baby with important nutrients that are not available from formula may not always be the safest choice.
Researchers found that one in 10 samples of breast milk that they bought over the Internet and tested contained genetic material from cow’s milk. They said it was likely that the cow’s milk was intentionally added to human milk, to stretch its volume.
In the study, researchers analyzed 102 samples of breast milk purchased from “milk-sharing” sites for a price ranging from 50 cents to $3 per ounce. Researchers say that they could not find out if the breast milk tehy tested contained cow’s milk or formula that contained cow’s milk. Of the adulterated breast milk samples, 10 of the 11 contained at least 10% cow’s milk.
According to lead author Sarah Keim, a principal investigator at the Center for Biobehavioral Health at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, when money is involved, motivations can be other than charitable. She points out that it’s unsafe to give infants even a little cow’s milk, as the infant could have problems tolerating it or may turn out to be allergic to cow’s milk protein.
The study was published in the journal, Pediatrics.
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