Other People's Breast Milk

Kate Garraway Interview

What are the benefits of breast-feeding?
It's simply a matter of the female body being able to produce exactly what a baby needs, and it's something that science hasn’t been able to perfectly replicate. Formula is fine, of course it is, millions of babies are raised on it, but the combinations of nutrients and antibodies in breast milk make it much the best thing for a baby to take. There is also SOME evidence that babies raised on formula have a higher incidence of obesity and of cancer later in life.

Do you think we have a somewhat prudish attitude to breastfeeding in this country?
Absolutely. It's the most natural thing in the world, but it can still generate such a strong reaction from people. It's still seen as something that's dirty. Yet in other cultures, women can breastfeed each other's babies, for example, and nobody bats an eyelid.

Is there any evidence that a baby's own mother is the best person to provide the milk for them?
I think it is likely that nothing is as good for you as the milk provided by your own mother, but as far as alternatives go, the women I spoke to were convinced that breast milk from someone other than your mother is still a much better option than formula. Many people might think it is weird, but they argue it is much weirder to drink cow's milk, which is, after all, from the breast of another species, than it is to drink it from a woman. I'm not saying that I would have been able to have my daughter fed by someone else if I'd been unable to breastfeed, but it certainly makes a degree of sense.

You said that in the programme you meet women who are able to breastfeed despite having never been pregnant.
Yes, it's extraordinary. I didn't know such a thing was possible, but it appears that some women are able to produce milk regardless of pregnancy. Not all women, otherwise we'd all be walking about producing milk all of the time. Of course, not all women are able to breastfeed even when they do have babies.

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