# $elling brea$t milk. Would you? How would I?



## Primigravida (May 7, 2006)

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?se...lth&id=4151268

For some reason this was on my mind.
I keep reading about sites were women advertise their own milk for sell but I can't seem to find one.
The only sites I can find is the milk banks and they take donations. I'm not against donation but for the price they are selling it for I could put some of that in my own pocket.

*ETA:* You know, you can spin the wording on this subject.








_"I don't sell breast milk, I'm an employed wet-nurse."_


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## Cardinal (Feb 6, 2006)

Since you asked...
I would not sell my breast milk. I'd donate it. I'd maybe *ask* for the person to pay for shipping costs, since that might be pricey. I wouldn't sell it though because I would feel bad for making someone have to pay for my bm.

If a person can't breastfeed and they need milk for their child, I'd donate it to them. BM is very expensive and I bet more people would use stranger's milk it were free (or at least cheap). I realize it has to be screened and pasteurized, but I still don't "get" why it is so expensive. Makes me sad. IMHO, it's like medicine for a baby. If I had leftover medicine for a baby, I wouldn't make a mom pay for that medicine. I would give it to her so she could help her baby. KWIM?


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## twins10705 (Feb 10, 2006)

I would never purchase breastmilk privately. Someone made a good point that the seller could be using goat's milk and charging you by the ounce and you'd probably never know the difference. Basically when money gets involved there is so much more room for corruption/abuse.


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## Swirly (May 20, 2006)

I have a freezer full I would love to donate some of, but no clue how to do so.


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## GooeyRN (Apr 24, 2006)

I would be loaded if I sold mine. I have 3 deep freezers full. And no, I wont donate it. I am selfish. I want my baby to have milk as long as possible. I keep rotating the stock to keep it fresh. I EP, so I work very hard for the milk I get. I don't want to continue pumping for 2 years, but I want dd to have my milk 18-24 months. So it all belongs to my daughter.


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## ripcurlgirl26 (May 10, 2006)

I would never ever ever be able to sell my milk. I donate it and DH has actually brought up the topic of selling it before. We could definitely use the extra money, but there's no way I could do it when I think of how many babies need it and their parents can't afford $1-2 an ounce!


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

As bad as I need the $$ I wouldnt charge if the mom needed the milk. I would however ask for shipping cost since I couldnt afford to ship it myself.


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## Cela (Jun 9, 2006)

Why sell something that God gave you for free?

I don't understand mothers that buy breastmilk from unknown sources... Don't they realize the risks since they are not sure if the donors are screened?

I think if they want to make it formal, there should have some regulations and supervision. And like blood, if the donor receives $$ it should not be for human use (lab testing and experimentation only)


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## TurboClaudia (Nov 18, 2003)

it seems that by selling it, you would invite liability *should* something communicable or detrimental to the baby's health be transmitted through it. this could invite litigation brought against you.

i only wish i had the problem of worrying about if i could sell my breastmilk, instead of worrying about whether or not our son and our coming in september baby would have enough from me because of my supply issues...

~claudia


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## LeosMama (Sep 6, 2005)

I would sell it. I even tried to, but eBay pulled my auction









I don't think you're selfish for wanting to do so. You made it with your body and your physical resources.

Why shouldn't we profit from milk we produce? There are lots of things that some families can't afford to buy, but I don't necessarily give them these things just because I can afford them. I help out my friends and neighbors and donate to charity, but I have to make a living and support my family, too, so if I saw an opportunity to earn some money from my milk, I'd be right there selling it.

That being said, I have donated my milk to several other families when the mother was working hard to get her own supply up (and for one who never could as she'd had a breast reduction). I guess it just depends on the situation. I think I deserve to be compensated for my time and equipment, and the mother for whom I pumped long-term was very generous with gifts and supplies as appropriate.

So, Primigravida, if you happen across a site to sell your milk, do let me know as I will be making milk again come late Sept.


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## MaryJaneLouise (Jul 26, 2005)

Here's info on private milk donations:

http://www.breastmilkdonations.com/index.html

http://milkshare.birthingforlife.com/

Or you can donate to milk banks :

http://www.hmbana.org/


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## ellymay (Aug 4, 2005)

Here is another site that allows you to donate...

http://www.breastfeeding.com/promotions/nmb_signup.html


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## Evie P. (Apr 5, 2006)

I donate my milk to a milk bank in Christiana, DE. Donating it to a milk bank is the only way to know it's going to people who really need it -- preemies and very sick babies and adults with AIDS.

My guy -- and I think most babes -- do not like breastmilk from the freezer. The milk tastes like soap. But the milk bank pasteurizes it all anyway, so the taste isn't the same and I assume is better than plain frozen milk. So I donated all the milk I had been storing from the beginning and also I pumped each day once he started solids. If I didn't use that pumped milk within the day as a bottle, I put it in the freezer for the sick babies. Then once the freezer was full, I mailed it to the milk bank.

You have to fill out a bunch of paperwork and get a blood test and the mailing is a bit of a pain, but they pay for that. I found the milk bank by looking on LLL website -- they list links that you can look at to find the bank closest to you. I live in NYC and the closest one was in DE so I mailed it.

In this day and age of so much despair and selfishness, I think we all need to give what we can to others -- and ultimately it will make you feel really good. While you are breastfeeding, you have a rare opportunity to share some of your wonderful milk with a baby who may not even have a mama or with someone who is very sick. That or make a few extra bucks. I think you will feel much better about donating it to someone in need.

Of course you have to look out for your own child first, but if you have extra milk (and you can make extra once you start pumping it), why not do the right thing? I think the world will only get better if we all start thinking about all children as all of our children and do what we can to help others. And would you rather later tell your child how feeding him enabled you to help others or that feeding him enabled you to make a few more bucks? If you have a freezer full of milk anyway, think about doing it!


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## nabigus (Sep 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ellymay*
Here is another site that allows you to donate...

http://www.breastfeeding.com/promotions/nmb_signup.html


NONONONONONONONNONOOOOO! This is a "front" organization for Prolacta, the FOR-PROFIT "milk bank" that solicits donations from moms and then turns around and sells the milk to hospitals for 10 TIMES what non-profit milk banks charge! They are so beyond evil.

Here's the give away: on this page, search for "Prolacta":
http://www.nationalmilkbank.org/abou...timonials.html

And here's the link to the NPR story on Prolacta:
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/s...200605165.html


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## Snowdrift (Oct 15, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Evie P.*
In this day and age of so much despair and selfishness, I think we all need to give what we can to others -- and ultimately it will make you feel really good. While you are breastfeeding, you have a rare opportunity to share some of your wonderful milk with a baby who may not even have a mama or with someone who is very sick. That or make a few extra bucks. I think you will feel much better about donating it to someone in need.

This kinda of sums up my big issue with threads like these. No one has a problem with me selling my intelligence by the hour as a lawyer, or intelligence and my manual dexterity as a surgeon, or my experience and patience as a midwife...on and on and on.

But bring lactation into the picture and suddenly we have an obligation to do what feels good and to give what we can and generally better the world.

Sorry, pumping is work and in a sense lactation is work--it certainly requires energy--, and if I choose to seek compensation for my work then I don't see what is wrong with that.

It's not about me having medicine I can't use; it's about me devoting considerable effort to making medicine. Yeah, I have a problem with the enormous profit margins of pharma companies, but my local HFS sells herbals and homeopathics and flower remedies--should they give them away for free bc it's somehow unethical to charge for nature's bounty combined with the work needed to harvest and process it?

I pump to donate. I donate privately becuase it ticks me off that broke as I am my milk is unlikely to go to poor babies if I donate through a bank (yes, there are optimistic stories; doens't change the fact that banks charge quite a bit). I need about 6-8 oz. of EBM a week for my own DD. Certainly not enough that I need to pump daily.

But I pump once or twice daily anyway. It's a burden. It takes time, moeny, energy. It puts even more of a cramp in my spontenaity than a baby, bc I always need to bring the pump with me when I go somewhere overnight. Sorry, it's work. I choose to give it away, but I don't think for one minute that it would not be ok to sell it if I needed/wanted to.

Btw, I don't really have a huge martyr complex about my pumping schedule; I'm delighted it's worked out well, since it was a personal goal I set in pregnancy for myself.


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## Snowdrift (Oct 15, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Cela*
Why sell something that God gave you for free?

Because I have to pay the rent. And the grocery bill. And all the other bills.

Utopia might be nice, but until everything is free, it's not cool to tell me that only what I produce should be free.

(No, I don't sell my milk.)


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## Shirelle (May 22, 2006)

I looked into selling mine too. The websites I found had pages and PAGES of women offering to sell their milk, but very few people saying they needed breastmilk. There was more than one weirdo guy on there that said that they would LOVE some breastmilk. If I could have found a legitimate person to sell it too, I would have....Heck, I'd be a wet-nurse if I could bring in some more money! We really struggle financially.

I donated some of my milk to a milk bank (about 100 oz.)...and I'm pumping on an ongoing basis for a mother who cannot afford or qualify for milk from a milk bank. I'm glad that I got to do both. My milkbank will not take your milk after your baby's first birthday, so now I pump for the one mom who's baby needs it. What's cool, is that she gets all her cow's milk raw from a dairy...I've never been able to afford that, so when she comes to get my milk, she's going to bring my family some raw cow's milk....kind of a little milk trade


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## comfybuns (Apr 19, 2006)

I have such a hard time pumping or i would sell or donate


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## littlebeagle (Aug 19, 2004)

bluebottle -

When you say "every day", do you mean 7 days a week, 5 days a week, or what? And... Do you actually breastfeed the baby or do they pump it from you there?


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## mfp02 (Jan 5, 2005)

I will be donating my milk after birth of my surrobaby. I hope to find someone local, but I absolutely refuse to donate to a milk bank ($3/ounce is outrageous!). I will happily go through any and all testing and provide proof of my good health to those accepting my donations.

I will be paying for the cost of the pump (Lactina - used around $400), bra made for pumping, breast pads (I had problems with leaking after each baby, no matter how often I BF'd), and storage bags. I am okay with paying for all of this though.

I don't think I could charge for my milk itself though?!


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## Evie P. (Apr 5, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *littlebeagle*
bluebottle -

When you say "every day", do you mean 7 days a week, 5 days a week, or what? And... Do you actually breastfeed the baby or do they pump it from you there?

I'm the one who posted the anti-rationalist-love-all-children posting that didn't go over so well -- but I started pumping when he started solids. I was doing it everyday and sometimes just five days and sometimes less or more. You send it when your freezer is full, so it's kind of up to you, but of course your supply changes if you aren't somewhat consistent.

I would rather have gone to a NICU to do it so those little babies could be held and loved but I don't think there's anything like that around here. Whenever I am nursing my guy I think of all those babies without mamas -- or worse, without mamas and with all kinds of health problems -- who no one is holding, let alone nursing!


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## loudmama (Mar 12, 2005)

I just wish someone, anyone, paid or not could use my milk. My DS was born 9 weeks early. I started pumping every 3 hours right away. He didn't need the amount I pumped. I have a 5 cubic foot freezer just about full of milk. He is home now & nursing with a nipple shield. I only work PT & pump when away from him. I probably won't need it all. I can't donate it though because I'm on Zoloft. I understand it, I just hate to see that it may go to waste in the end.

L


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## kittywitty (Jul 5, 2005)

I looked into this, as well, but the milk bank closest to me will not take mine since dd is over 1 year old. That's sad. But I would certainly pump for a momma neaer me if she needed it and can't afford it.


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## Steve's Wife (Jan 19, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *loudmama*
I just wish someone, anyone, paid or not could use my milk. My DS was born 9 weeks early. I started pumping every 3 hours right away. He didn't need the amount I pumped. I have a 5 cubic foot freezer just about full of milk. He is home now & nursing with a nipple shield. I only work PT & pump when away from him. I probably won't need it all. I can't donate it though because I'm on Zoloft. I understand it, I just hate to see that it may go to waste in the end.

L

In situations like these, couldn't you just use it in place of cow's milk when the baby is older? Put it on their cereal, in their oatmeal, have it to drink at dinner?


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## monkeys4mama (Apr 25, 2006)

I have bf and pumped for all four of my kids and I had TONS of frozen milk that never got used. I worked PT and was a PT student back when I had #1 & #2, so I would pump like crazy to build a supply of milk b/c I never wanted to run out. My kids didn't like frozen milk so all that milk just sat there. I always pumped way more than I needed for the kids, so even when they didn't drink frozen, I would freeze the extra. Eventually I had a whole huge freezer full of milk. But noone to feed it to. I wished I could have donated it somewhere but the local hospitals didn't take donor milk. And I didn't know anyone who would want it or anyplace to offer it. It just sat in the freezer until it got too old and then when we moved, I dumped it down the drain. Made me so sad to do that







But I couldn't think of anything else to use it for. Now I kinda wish I had tried to make some homemade mama soap with it. Or some other thing like that. I suppose I could still try to pump now, only I haven't pumped in ages. Addy is over a year old so I don't even know if I could get anything much w/ a pump...


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## GooeyRN (Apr 24, 2006)

Don't dump your frozen milk if your older baby doesn't like it! You can put a little chocolate syrup in it and make it chocolate milk, or make smoothies w/ lots of fruit out of it. Try making pudding out of it.


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## polishprinsezz (Dec 31, 2006)

here is a site where you can post your milk to sell.

http://www.quicktopic.com/37/H/bdYpDLGXmYhe

i would sell my milk. why can formula companies be the the only ones to make a profit feeding babies? i would be glad to give proof of clean health and be drug tested too.


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## charitycase20 (Jun 18, 2007)

No I couldn't sell my milk either but I have donated to needy mama's and their babes via MilkShare. I did a local donation so shipping wasn't involved but the mama did supply me with a big box of storage bags to cover what I gave her. Its a great group if anyone is interested and there are lots of babes out there that need BM.







:


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## rivkah (Oct 9, 2008)

First of all, I am NOT making a judgment call on this one. As Barack Obama said when asked when life began, "This is above my pay grade." I am not a medical ethicist, but I do want to point out that I think this is a more complicated issue than selling formula.

In our society, we view bodies differently than other objects that may be considered a "commodity." For example, it is illegal to sell your blood or your organs. People do get payed for donating plasma, but I think that is technically a reimbursement for time spent, which is analogous to what a pp described as the practice of the NICU in her area.

I know that there are many exceptions to this ideal--for example, women sell their eggs, and men can get paid for sperm (I think, if I am wrong, forgive me).

So again, I am not saying that selling your milk is wrong, it is just complicated. I think the closest analogy is not selling formula, which is made from material that we already view as a commodity, soybeans or cow's milk. I think a closer analogy is donating blood, because when someone needs a human milk donation, it is almost always due to a medical issue, just as people need blood for medical reasons. And of course, this is complicated also, because drug companies make money off of people's medical needs.

Besides the questionable ethics (not morality, ethics) of the situation, I would wonder if it is even legal. If you view selling BF as nothing more than selling a foodstuff, then I assume that you would need to comply with agricultural/food safety laws. If you view is as selling a medical product, you would have to comply with FDA laws.

It is all an interesting idea, though.


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## FernG (Feb 14, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *loudmama* 
I just wish someone, anyone, paid or not could use my milk. My DS was born 9 weeks early. I started pumping every 3 hours right away. He didn't need the amount I pumped. I have a 5 cubic foot freezer just about full of milk. He is home now & nursing with a nipple shield. I only work PT & pump when away from him. I probably won't need it all. I can't donate it though because I'm on Zoloft. I understand it, I just hate to see that it may go to waste in the end.

L

Join Milkshare on yahoo groups. Another mom may not mind.


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## happyhousewife06 (May 26, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *comfybuns* 
I have such a hard time pumping or i would sell or donate

I second this! I would love to and have tried to get an over supply but Its a tough battle! but I so would.


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## kcparker (Apr 6, 2008)

If you live in Iowa (or even in a contiguous state), the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has a Mother's Milk Bank that takes donations (onetime or recurring). They don't pay, but they also DO NOT CHARGE the recipient family for the milk. They pool the milk and batch pasteurize it, and it's available to babies who need it due to prematurity, being adopted, gut issues, mom's temporary loss of supply (as with being on antibiotics contraindicated for BFIng or whatever), etc. They have started sister programs at hospitals in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, and their goal is to provide breastmilk for ANY baby in the whole state who might need it, both at home and in the hospital. I donated for over a year because I produced lots of milk, more than my son could drink, and this milk bank is run in a really ethical, above-board way. It was way easier than dickering around with selling it online, and I don't think that access to breastmilk should be limited to those who can afford to pay $3/ounce. Breastmilk provides such a great start for babies, it should be a human right, frankly.


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## vrclay (Jun 12, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *loudmama* 
I just wish someone, anyone, paid or not could use my milk. My DS was born 9 weeks early. I started pumping every 3 hours right away. He didn't need the amount I pumped. I have a 5 cubic foot freezer just about full of milk. He is home now & nursing with a nipple shield. I only work PT & pump when away from him. I probably won't need it all. I can't donate it though because I'm on Zoloft. I understand it, I just hate to see that it may go to waste in the end.

L

Not sure about Zoloft but I can tell you that I've donated over 2000 oz of breastmilk while taking Wellbutrin. I donated privately and made sure the recipient mamas knew and every one was fine with it. Try Milkshare, you might be surprised at who needs/wants your milk.


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## kriket (Nov 25, 2007)

I would love to chime in, I have really enjoyed reading all your comments.

I think I also live in Utopian hippie world. I'm a huge fan of "treat other how you want treated" "good things happen to good people" "rule of three" train of thought. I could never live my life saying "I need money and will do anything to get it" money does NOT rule me. I have made a ton, I have made very little. If you make it happen, ends will meet. You just have to make it happen and stop making excuses!

OK enough of that!

I think there are deeper problems in selling milk. If you could sell your milk for $1 and ounce and you can pump 8 ounces a day _after_ your baby nurses, imagine how much you could make if you switched your baby to solids and cows milk and didn't nurse them? Imagine how much you could make if you started a place in the really poor part of town and gave them $.75 an ounce for their BM?

There are a million ways that paying for BM could be abused. I don't like it for a second. I think if you want to sell BM for "more then cost" (supplies, screenings, pasteurizing, transportation) you need to have rules on how old you baby can be when you start selling. If you want to keep your supply for 10 years, thats great, your first year (two?) should be for your baby, not for profit!

Fun conversation mamas!


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## AlpineMama (Aug 16, 2007)

Ideally mothers who didn't want to bother with breastfeeding would be able to buy breastmilk instead of buying formula. (Formula wouldn't be around except for the rare and true medical anomalies.) Mothers who had a medical reason for not being able to bf would have it donated to them free of charge.

But that scenario will never happen.


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## iowaorganic (May 19, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kcparker* 
If you live in Iowa (or even in a contiguous state), the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has a Mother's Milk Bank that takes donations (onetime or recurring). They don't pay, but they also DO NOT CHARGE the recipient family for the milk. They pool the milk and batch pasteurize it, and it's available to babies who need it due to prematurity, being adopted, gut issues, mom's temporary loss of supply (as with being on antibiotics contraindicated for BFIng or whatever), etc. They have started sister programs at hospitals in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, and their goal is to provide breastmilk for ANY baby in the whole state who might need it, both at home and in the hospital. I donated for over a year because I produced lots of milk, more than my son could drink, and this milk bank is run in a really ethical, above-board way. It was way easier than dickering around with selling it online, and I don't think that access to breastmilk should be limited to those who can afford to pay $3/ounce. Breastmilk provides such a great start for babies, it should be a human right, frankly.

Yay! I just called them- not sure if they will take mine (older than 6 mo) but worth a shot. Thank You!

Sorry ladies- but I would sell some of my excess in a heart beat. Money is too stinking hard to come by..... After DS was born I pumped so that I could avoid mastitis and while that worked well, DD had plenty and I still ended up freezing tons which still hasn't gotten used up and I am ready to have another DC soon! I think it should be a personal decision for the selling mama to make. I would have no problem feeding my babe, pumping off the excess for my toddler and selling what he doesn't drink that day!


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## mamanurse (Jan 22, 2006)

I would TOTALLY love the extra cash my bm would bring in, but I refuse to sell it. It's something I am lucky to have a lot of and I happily donate it to moms who need it in my area.

Accepting milk from a mom who wants money for it can be a liability. She has a reason to lie or compromise the quality of her milk because she's getting money for it. Just like blood products collected from paid individuals is considered lower quality, human milk is as well.


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## almadianna (Jul 22, 2006)

In many places it is illegal to sell breastmilk... so you cant.

You can however charge for shipping, space that it takes up in your house while storing it, the pump, electricity if you use your own fridge to store it, etc.


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## polishprinsezz (Dec 31, 2006)

what some of you who are against selling breastmilk dont realise is that pumping, storing, and supplies take money and time. i would never charge a friend or a family member for my milk if they needed it. my baby comes first and what milk i have left over gets stored in our deep freezer. if i were to sell my milk i would negotiate a price as i am not trying to get rich off my milk.i also am willing to give proof of clean and drugfree health. i know some people are shady and greedy. i try to be a fair and honest person.i have sold my milk in the past to a cancer patient. he was very fair in his payment to me and he trusted me to be honest in the quality of my milk. as one poster said money is hard to come by. i see nothing wrong in selling your milk if you are up front and honest.


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