Mothers Cash In On One Of Their Valuable Resources: Breast Milk

ABC News featured mothers from around the country who are selling a valuable resource they hold: their breast milk. Let’s file this under “markets for everything.” I’ve known many women who donated their breast milk, but didn’t realize you could even sell it.

For a month’s supply of breastmilk, you can bring in anywhere from $300 to $1200 dollars. The equivalent amount of formula would be around $200.

OnlyTheBreast.com is one of the sites that enables these transactions. One mom calls it the Craigslist of breast milk. And I think they mean that in every sense of the word. The categories (and number of women selling milk for each) include:

0-2 Months (205)
2-6 Months (233)
6-12 Months (87)

Discount, $1.00 or less (70)
Fat Babies (40)
Fresh Breast Milk on Demand (74)

Looking to Sell Milk Locally (143)
Milk Bank Certified (15)
Screened (15)

Special Diet (Vegan Etc) (33)
Willing to Sell Breast Milk to Men (122)

The site also lists for wet nurses.

Here’s a sample ad:

Location : Colorado Springs, Colorado, US
Price
$ 2.50
More Information
My name is Jessica and I have a three year-old son whom I breastfed for 18 months as well as two month-old twins and my body is producing almost double of what they need daily.

I am a very healthy and athletic 28 years-old stay at home mom.

The mothers involved do report that the transactions might seem weird at first.

The market for breastmilk, though, is thriving. Scientific studies that support breast milk’s health benefits have fueled the trend.

One of the challenges — for which I hope someone comes up with a nifty solution — is all of the unknowns involved in these transactions. Questions about the donor’s medical background or health can be hard to answer. For instance, you don’t want certain drugs in the milk and are relying on the honor system.

For me, the weirdness is not related to the selling of breast milk. I can understand donating or selling breast milk no problem. But what about purchasing it? Particularly with all of the unknowns. That’s where I’d need some additional information.

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