Ad To Sell Breast Milk Stirs Nationwide Response !!!!!!!!!
Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 9:42 am
Source: www.gazetteonline.com
November 3, 2007 Author: By Cindy Hadish
The Gazette
cindy.hadish@gazettecommunications.com
Martha Heller, 22, of Tiffin, has pumped 100 ounces of breast milk that her 4-month-old daughter has refused to drink from a bottle. Heller tried to sell the frozen excess milk through a classified advertisement in The Gazette, and her story has drawn nationwide attention.
TIFFIN - Like most nursing mothers, Martha Heller sees breast milk as a precious commodity.
Even so, Heller, 22, of Tiffin, was taken aback by the inquiries she has received since placing an ad in The Gazette to sell her own breast milk.
"I'm really surprised," she said. "I didn't think it would get this kind of attention, especially nationally."
Heller was interviewed by news outlets across the country after an article published Thursday in The Gazette was widely disseminated.
What the first-time mother tells callers is the same thing decades of research has shown: breast milk is the best form of nutrition for infants.
VIDEO: The Hellers talk about putting breast milk up for sale
According to the University of Iowa-based Mother's Milk Bank of Iowa, infants on breast milk have lower hospital admission rates, fewer ear infections, rashes and allergies, and less diarrhea.
The group notes breast milk is even more important for premature infants.
Human milk contains ingredients not found in formula, including immune system boosters and unique proteins, fats, carbohydrates and enzymes needed for tiny infants to survive.
Parents who called The Gazette since the article ran said donated breast milk can be a lifesaver for sick infants whose mothers are unable to provide milk.
Heller, who donates to the milk bank, was screened for diseases and follows the bank's strict guidelines. Because she pumped the milk she has been trying to sell before that screening, she could not donate it.
She prefers that someone else use the milk, because it can be frozen for only six months or so before having to be discarded, and her own daughter refuses to take it from a bottle.
Don McCormick, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Public Health, said no laws expressly prohibit the sale of breast milk in Iowa and the department's legal counsel could find no court cases in which the practice was reviewed.
No U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulation specifically addresses breast milk.
An e-mail from the FDA to The Gazette noted, however, that the FDA is assessing issues related to breast milk, including donor screening, banking and processing.
Health experts aren't keen on individuals selling breast milk, noting that diseases such as HIV and hepatitis and any drugs a mother takes can pass through breast milk to an infant. Storage also is an issue.
The Mother's Milk Bank of Iowa pasteurizes donated milk to kill bacteria and viruses.
Calls to Heller have generally been supportive.
One adoptive mother and a man who operates an Alabama research lab both expressed interest in paying the $200 for 100 ounces of frozen breast milk that she advertised.
The ad appeared last week in The Gazette's classifieds — underneath a Barbie Jeep for sale — until Friday.
"After further review, we made the decision to pull the ad," said classified advertising manager Ted Borelli.
Heller said she set the price below milk bank fees.
Jean Drulis, director of the Mother's Milk Bank of Iowa, said a processing fee of $14 is charged for each 3.3-ounce bottle of milk, which works out about $4 per ounce.
Heller, who worked in child care before giving birth to her daughter in August, said if the milk is sold, the money would go to family expenses.
Their daughter, Kristina, is nursing well and is healthy, said Heller's husband, Peter Heller, 23, a GEICO employee.
"She's gained 4 pounds and 4 inches since birth," he said.
November 3, 2007 Author: By Cindy Hadish
The Gazette
cindy.hadish@gazettecommunications.com
Martha Heller, 22, of Tiffin, has pumped 100 ounces of breast milk that her 4-month-old daughter has refused to drink from a bottle. Heller tried to sell the frozen excess milk through a classified advertisement in The Gazette, and her story has drawn nationwide attention.
TIFFIN - Like most nursing mothers, Martha Heller sees breast milk as a precious commodity.
Even so, Heller, 22, of Tiffin, was taken aback by the inquiries she has received since placing an ad in The Gazette to sell her own breast milk.
"I'm really surprised," she said. "I didn't think it would get this kind of attention, especially nationally."
Heller was interviewed by news outlets across the country after an article published Thursday in The Gazette was widely disseminated.
What the first-time mother tells callers is the same thing decades of research has shown: breast milk is the best form of nutrition for infants.
VIDEO: The Hellers talk about putting breast milk up for sale
According to the University of Iowa-based Mother's Milk Bank of Iowa, infants on breast milk have lower hospital admission rates, fewer ear infections, rashes and allergies, and less diarrhea.
The group notes breast milk is even more important for premature infants.
Human milk contains ingredients not found in formula, including immune system boosters and unique proteins, fats, carbohydrates and enzymes needed for tiny infants to survive.
Parents who called The Gazette since the article ran said donated breast milk can be a lifesaver for sick infants whose mothers are unable to provide milk.
Heller, who donates to the milk bank, was screened for diseases and follows the bank's strict guidelines. Because she pumped the milk she has been trying to sell before that screening, she could not donate it.
She prefers that someone else use the milk, because it can be frozen for only six months or so before having to be discarded, and her own daughter refuses to take it from a bottle.
Don McCormick, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Public Health, said no laws expressly prohibit the sale of breast milk in Iowa and the department's legal counsel could find no court cases in which the practice was reviewed.
No U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulation specifically addresses breast milk.
An e-mail from the FDA to The Gazette noted, however, that the FDA is assessing issues related to breast milk, including donor screening, banking and processing.
Health experts aren't keen on individuals selling breast milk, noting that diseases such as HIV and hepatitis and any drugs a mother takes can pass through breast milk to an infant. Storage also is an issue.
The Mother's Milk Bank of Iowa pasteurizes donated milk to kill bacteria and viruses.
Calls to Heller have generally been supportive.
One adoptive mother and a man who operates an Alabama research lab both expressed interest in paying the $200 for 100 ounces of frozen breast milk that she advertised.
The ad appeared last week in The Gazette's classifieds — underneath a Barbie Jeep for sale — until Friday.
"After further review, we made the decision to pull the ad," said classified advertising manager Ted Borelli.
Heller said she set the price below milk bank fees.
Jean Drulis, director of the Mother's Milk Bank of Iowa, said a processing fee of $14 is charged for each 3.3-ounce bottle of milk, which works out about $4 per ounce.
Heller, who worked in child care before giving birth to her daughter in August, said if the milk is sold, the money would go to family expenses.
Their daughter, Kristina, is nursing well and is healthy, said Heller's husband, Peter Heller, 23, a GEICO employee.
"She's gained 4 pounds and 4 inches since birth," he said.
when was the last time breast and demure were ever used in the same sentence.. 