A sharing by Ling Sing Lin
This is a blogpost about breast milk. If the thought of breast milk makes you queasy, you should stop reading the post now.
The Good
In case you don’t know, breast milk is the best nutrition for the human baby, not cow’s milk (or formula milk), which is obviously meant for the calf.
In the old days, there was a job category called wet nurse, who breastfed palace babies and babies from rich families.
I recall that breastfeeding rates had been very low in Singapore in the mid 1900s till about year 2000, when various initiatives to promote breastfeeding finally took effect.
However, not all mothers are able to breastfeed successfully. The milk bank concept was thus born. There are both commercial milk banks and non-profit milk banks in the world.
Women who have excess milk are able to donate the milk to non-profit milk banks, or sell it to commercial milk banks. Generally, breast milk is priced about three times more than formula milk. The expressed milk is stored in a cooler bag in the freezer, and the milk is subsequently pasteurized.
Breast milk can be life-saving for premature and sick babies, as their immature digestive systems may not be able to tolerate formula milk. In addition, mothers of preterm babies can have difficulty producing milk.
The Bad
So, how can the milk bank concept be bad? In the US, breast milk can be legally sold in commercial milk banks. Unfortunately, 80% of buyers of breast milk are men! Apparently, they are body builders who buy the breast milk for its high protein value (for milk shakes), or to satisfy fetishes or emotional needs.
The Beautiful
We have heard of diamonds made from human ashes to immortalize the memory of a loved one. Breast milk can also be made into jewelry which is significant to the wearer. The stone is yellow to creamy white in colour, depending on the fat content. Surprisingly, it does not change colour over time, but lasts a lifetime. If it changes colour, it is due to a milk preservation error, and this colour change will happen in the first three months.
Liquid Gold
Breast milk can be considered liquid gold. However, as with many things in this world, something good can be corrupted. We must always strive to walk the straight and narrow path.
lingsinglin
Dr Ling Sing Lin is a medical doctor by training. She worked in MOH HQ for many years, in policy making and administrative positions, until her retirement.
