title: Buying human milk via the internet: just a click away.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  For past centuries, infants have been fed the milk of mothers who are not their own by latching to another woman's breast. Today, the majority of lactating women use electric pumps to extract milk from their breasts; thus, an infant now may be fed another woman's milk via a bottle or cup. The Internet is an emerging avenue to acquire pumped human milk. The purpose of our study was to participate in and describe the process of buying milk via the Internet. Our goal is to help those involved with the clinical care, research, and public health policy of mothers and infants better understand that families may be buying milk in this way.
  
  
  METHODS
  We anonymously bought 102 human milk samples via the Internet. We characterized the outside box, packing materials, milk container, temperature and condition of the milk, and cost.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We bought 2,131 ounces of milk at a total cost of $8,306. Eighty-nine percent of the milk arrived above the recommended frozen temperature of -20°C; 45% of it was even above the recommended refrigerator temperature (4°C). The mean surface temperature of the milk samples in each shipment was correlated with the cost of shipping, time in transit, and condition of the milk containers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence and potential risks of this practice currently are unknown. Research related to milk quality and infant outcomes related to milk buying via the Internet is urgently needed.
authors: 1 Cincinnati Children's Center for Breastfeeding Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center , Cincinnati, Ohio.
authors: Sheela R
authors: SR
authors: Geraghty
authors: Kelly A
authors: KA
authors: McNamara
authors: Chelsea E
authors: CE
authors: Dillon
authors: Joseph S
authors: JS
authors: Hogan
authors: Jesse J
authors: JJ
authors: Kwiek
authors: Sarah A
authors: SA
authors: Keim
mesh_terms: D003132:Commerce; D046148:Donor Selection / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D017784:Milk Banks / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D008895:Milk, Human; D009035:Mothers; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011247:Pregnancy; D011634:Public Health / Q000191:economics; D011640:Public Policy; D011786:Quality Control; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D013696:Temperature; D014481:United States
references: Breastfeed Rev. 2009 Mar;17(1):9-18
references: 19385347
references: Int Breastfeed J. 2011 Jun 25;6:8
references: 21702986
references: Matern Child Health J. 2014 Aug;18(6):1471-9
references: 24158507
references: Public Health Rep. 2011 Mar-Apr;126(2):161-4
references: 21387943
references: Pediatrics. 2008 Oct;122 Suppl 2:S63-8
references: 18829833
references: Public Health Rep. 2011 Mar-Apr;126(2):165-6
references: 21387944