Breast milk sharing: balancing benefits, safety, and access
Breast milk sharing has risen, with milk banks offering screened, pasteurized donor milk for babies who can’t receive milk from their own mothers. While donor milk can provide key immune and nutritional benefits, informal sharing (including online sales) carries risks of contamination and quality issues. Medical experts say fresh milk from the mother remains the best option; when that's not possible, the safest route is through a vetted milk bank, with frozen pasteurized milk as a solid alternative. Storage notes indicate frozen milk stays usable for several months, but the mother–infant nursing dyad remains the ideal pairing.