Mother’s milk is a gift to your baby

We must resist the commercialisation of breast milk, writes Shelina Janmohamed

A teacher at a nursery bottle feeds a baby (Nicole Hill / The National)

‘Breast is best” is a mantra with which mothers all around the world are familiar. The World Health Organisation recommends breast-feeding for at least six months, but in many countries breastfeeding rates are phenomenally low.

As a result of the health benefits of breastmilk, a corporation in the US is now making it available to purchase. The New York Times reported last week that the Prolacta Bioscience Corporation has $46 million (Dh169m) in funding and is buying breastmilk from lactating mothers.

I firmly believe breastmilk should not be a commodity. It reduces the magic that women hold of creating and giving life into a soulless consumerist product.

Motherhood has always been a challenging vocation. But in the modern world, it feels like it’s been outsourced. The role and status of women as the first human connection and nurturer is slowly being depersonalised. I’m not arguing that a mother must change every nappy, feed every drop of milk or play with every toy. That’s unrealistic and unnecessary. But motherhood itself must retain its human face, and not be replaced with a corporation or be purchased with a bar code.

Turning breastmilk into something anonymous to be processed and sold turns motherhood into a faceless commodity. Motherhood is not something that should be bought and sold.

Even worse, some businesses are turning breastmilk into something cutesy, a novelty fad that makes itself seem cheeky by breaking boundaries. Baby Gaga was a breastmilk ice cream sold in London’s Covent Garden district. A Chicago spa is offering breastmilk as an add-on for a facial (for an extra $10, if you are interested). And breastmilk lollipops really are a thing.

Advocates of breastfeeding say it is often frowned upon, but the advantages it offers babies are underestimated. They say that new mums are not given the encouragement to persist in the difficult early days.

They point to findings such as a recent study carried out in Brazil of 6,000 babies from all backgrounds since 1982 that showed that those who were breastfed were more intelligent, spent longer in education and earned more.

I fed my first baby for two years, and I’ve started on my new baby too. It’s a magical experience – although I don’t want to fetishise it, as it’s very hard. But once you get through the first few weeks of sleep deprivation and your baby settles down, it can be enjoyable and effortless. I am also in favour of milk banks, of mums who can donate milk giving it to those babies in need.

These retain the magic of motherhood, the human connection between the one producing the milk and the child, an irreplaceable real person not just a teat to be pumped and processed.

We need to retain the humanity and personal connection of breastmilk. That is one component of ensuring motherhood remains a valuable and respected vocation, not to be bought online or in a supermarket.

The magic of motherhood is being commodified, when instead it should be celebrated.

Shelina Zahra Janmohamed is the author of Love in a Headscarf and blogs at www.spirit21.co.uk