EXCLUSIVE The cash-strapped mothers selling their breast milk amid rise in online groups charging up to £800 for 'organic' products
Social media platforms such as Facebook are providing an unregulated booming market for those profiting off a high demand for breast milk, selling to other mothers who can't produce it and even adult men with fetishes.
Traditional donor milk banks in the UK are struggling to meet the demand for breast milk as new mothers strapped for cash are increasingly turning to social media to sell breast milk by the ounce.
A rise in online groups with thousands of members on social media platforms such as Facebook is instead being used to meet demand, often relying on mothers struggling to make ends meet to provide milk.
New mothers selling refrigerated or frozen breast milk on the social media platforms are charging as much as £800, typically pricing between 60p to £2 for one ounce of 'organic' breast milk.
Some women in the groups even said they were targeted by men asking for paid videos of them pumping for money.
The women who spoke to MailOnline said they are resorting to the groups as an opportunity to boost their income whilst on maternity leave, which they said was often not enough to support them and their baby.
Emily, a new mum and member of 'Buy and Sell Breastmilk UK' said: 'I'm a stay-at-home mum due to childcare expenses, and having worked in childcare myself and being on minimum wage I would have barely even had enough money after paying childcare costs.
'If men or women are willing to pay me to use my breast milk, which is great for everyone, contains amazing properties that are beneficial for all ages, then I would definitely just make some money from what I produce for free.'
Another seller, who works at a financial tech company, revealed she sells her milk to have more time off work spent with her baby.
'My employer is certainly generous - they offer six month's full pay and then it goes to statutory pay for six weeks. However, this is still not enough to cover how long I actually want off with my baby before going back to work.
'I'm selling my extra breast milk because it's extra money that may help to fund one to two months extra after my maternity pay ends.'
Currently there is no law regulating the sale of breast milk online, and mothers are free to sell their excess breast milk whilst on maternity leave if their employment contract allows.
But experts warn about the dangers of buying frozen breast milk online and the risks of over-pumping to mothers.
The Facebook groups MailOnline found also did not require health screenings or blood tests from sellers.
Rachel Watson, a lactation consultant, said: 'This is not safe. How do buyers know they're actually getting breastmilk?
'Safe milk handling also worries me – there is no way of knowing how long that milk has been in their freezer, how it has been packaged, or whether the parts were hygienic.
'It's very easy for bacteria to be teaming in breastmilk, and if you have an immunocompromised baby and you introduce bacteria into their system because the milk bought has not been stored or handled properly, it could be extremely dangerous.'
Rachel Watson also warned that pumping excess breast milk to sell could be detrimental to the mother and baby.
'Pumping an extra 60 ounces a day, for example, is not normal. Women can get all sorts of problems from over pumping, including mastitis, nipple blebs, nipple trauma, and the microbiome gets disrupted in the breast.
'Your body is not designed to produce one more drop than your baby needs, so it's not physiologically normal to be doing this. And freezing also reduces the amount of fat, calories, and micronutrients in the milk.'
One mother, Sammy Jordan, told MailOnline how she joined a Facebook group selling breast milk after being unable to make enough herself to feed her newborn son.
'Unfortunately my son was an emergency c-section and he was in neonatal for six days, so we were separated for that period. After that my body just didn't respond [to produce enough breastmilk].
'I did ask my GP/doctor about [free] donations but I was told there weren't any.
'Originally I joined to perhaps buy milk for him as I couldn't produce enough.
'I was worried about my baby having the best immunities from my milk and things like that.
'There is a lot of pressure to breastfeed, and your hormones at the time are all over the place. As a first time mum, you haven't a scooby what you're doing.'
But Sammy decided not to purchase milk from the group, explaining: 'I couldn't guarantee that [the sellers] hadn't been drinking or taking drugs – even some medications can be harmful and I just wasn't prepared to take the risk.
Mothers in online Facebook groups are offering discounts for bulk purchases of breastmilk
'I definitely think regulations need to be introduced. There are no medical certificates required in the groups or anything.'
Adult men are also joining the Facebook groups in growing numbers to buy breast milk as bodybuilders or for sexual fetishes, MailOnline has found.
In a message sent to one mother, a man from the Buy and Sell Breastmilk UK group asked one woman: 'Would you be interested in babying me alongside your son, I will pay £100 an hour to be your baby son.'
There is some concern within the groups about women being exploited for their breastmilk.
One member complained anonymously on 'Buy and Sell Breastmilk UK': 'To all the men on this group who are seeking to be nursed directly - admin please remove them - you guys should be ashamed!'
The administrator of the group was forced to step in, warning other members to contact the admins if they had been messaged by 'anyone with fetishes.'
The growing online breastmilk market also follows a rise in TikTok trends from bodybuilders encouraging people to include human breast milk in their diets, lauding its high-protein qualities.
Fitness influencers are praising this nutritional 'secret' on TikTok, claiming it contains hormones key to building muscle – despite experts saying there is no scientific evidence to prove it.
'Charged Fitness and Rehab', a TikTok influencer, posted a video in which he drank his wife's breast milk, stating: 'It's all for the gains.'
Isaac Rochell, another influencer, praised his wife's colostrum - the first form of milk produced by the mammary glands after giving birth - as 'liquid gold', telling his two million TikTok followers: 'I'm about to start putting breast milk in my protein shake.
'Before the baby comes women start producing something called colostrum. It's perfect for gains season. It's straight protein! Sure I could buy [colostrum] but it's like $100. I got plenty right here!'
However, medical experts on TikTok such as Dr Michael Narvey warned that there are no proven scientific benefits of breast milk to bodybuilders, and that premature babies whose mothers rely on milk banks should get priority.
Dr Harvey, a pediatrician with over 700k followers on TikTok, said: 'Aside from the fact that we're in a major formula shortage and so every drop of breastmilk that we have should go to babies, men need to understand that if you're using breastmilk to try to put on muscle mass, you need to be aware of what you're buying online.
'There are no rigorous scientific studies to prove a benefit here, so please stop selling breast milk online, and bodybuilders look to another source for gaining muscle mass.'
MailOnline also found that 'unvaccinated' or 'vegan' mothers' milk' was being priced at the more expensive end.
Advertisements for 'Premium Breastmilk' from mothers 'not COVID-19 vaccinated' are priced at the high end of the market for more than £1 per ounce, as well as from mothers following strict 'organic' diets.
One listing on Facebook from the group 'Buy and Sell Breastmilk UK' stated: 'FOR SALE … Vegan, high-protein diet, taking daily organic, food-grown vitamin and mineral supplements, low sugar diet, no Covid vaccines or boosters.'
Another group listing posted by a vegan mum said: 'I'm vegan so my milk is animal product free which of course includes dairy.
Women are posting online details about the breastmilk they have for sale - but there is no mechanism to check the validity of their claims
'I'm in super health with a very healthy diet. The going rate seems to be £1 per ounce…'
One seller's post even included a picture of the mother with her baby and asked: 'Why Choose My Breast Milk?
'I am a fit and healthy 35 year old mama… The vitamins and minerals in my breast milk are a direct reflection of my carefully balanced diet, ensuring the best possible nourishment for your little one.'
The mum then went on to list her entire 'organic' diet, which included 'grass-fed steak' and 'natural organic whey protein isolate' as well as her 'lifestyle choices' and medical information, before stating that she accepted bank transfers, PayPal, or cash.
Another listing from a mother on 'Buy and Sell Breastmilk UK' even advertised 1400 ounces of breast milk at 60p per ounce - for a whopping total price of £840.
More vegan mums are choosing to raise their children on a plant-based diet than ever before, with TikTok influencer videos of 'Vegan what I eat in a day while breastfeeding' and even 'Homemade Vegan Baby Formula Recipe' videos getting thousands of likes.
But for vegan mums unable to produce breast milk and with no vegan baby formulas currently available in the UK, the online marketplace is often the only option.
Vegan mothers on the Facebook group 'Buy and Sell Breastmilk UK' have increasingly posted requests for 'vegan sellers', with one mother posting: 'VEGAN MILK NEEDED URGENTLY' and another: 'I'm due in April with my first baby and looking for a backup plan as I'm vegan and there are no vegan formulas in the UK.'
In the UK, donor breast milk from milk banks is free to parents if it is part of hospital treatment or when provided at home in consultation with a health professional.
There are costs associated with collecting, pasteurising and storing the milk at donor banks, usually from £95-£275 per litre, according to the British Medical Journal. Mothers can search for their nearest donor milk bank here on the UK Human Milk Bank's website.
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