It was meant to be a day of celebration but Afiqah Hasanah, a Malaysian woman, had never felt more powerless in her life.
So when she attended a family event and had her hands full, she turned to her friend for help. But what she did not expect was for her friend to breastfeed her son.
The “Daily Mail” published a story about a new mother, Hasanah, who was mortified to discover her friend breastfeeding her son, Haider.
“I was busy carrying things, and when I arrived, she asked me for Haider, so I just gave him [to her] because she was someone close to me,” the mum said in a TikTok video.
In a video that she posted online, speaking her native language, Hasanah shared her story, and her emotions were evident. She was on the verge of tears as she talked about what had happened.
@afieqahhasanah mak mana je yang boleh terima 😌 tak tahu lah nak cakap macam mana . doakan saya boleh lupakan semua ni .
♬ original sound - afieqahhasanah
She couldn't believe that her friend had done something so intimate.
Hasanah confronted her friend, but to her dismay, she caught her friend doing the same thing a second time. When Hasanah confronted her friend, she said, “her excuse was that my baby was crying” – but this was unacceptable, reported the “Daily Mail”.
“Which mother can accept her baby being directly breast-fed by someone else while the mother herself has breastmilk?” she said. She felt that her trust had been shattered, and she didn’t know how to move on from it.
The dangers of informal milk sharing
“Informal milk sharing”, the practice of sharing breast milk between mothers without going through an established milk bank, seems like a simple and selfless way for mothers to help each other out. However, the risks that come with it can outweigh the perceived benefits
One significant risk associated with informal milk sharing is bacteria, viruses, and other disease-causing agents that may contaminate the milk. Breast milk is known to carry bacterial species. It can also transmit infections, including hepatitis B and C, HIV, and syphilis.
Another potential danger of informal milk sharing is the impact of diet and medication on breast milk.
What a mother ingests can affect the structure and composition of her breast milk. Drugs, prescription medicines, and even herbs in a woman’s diet may pass through her milk and could be harmful to an infant.
The contents of breast milk can change based on age, time of day, nursing frequency, and the health status of the mother. Due to this, the milk from one mother may not suit the specific nutritional needs of another mother’s baby.
Informal milk sharing has become an increasingly popular trend among breast-feeding moms, but it poses risks to the recipients, as the quality of milk cannot be assured. The potential risks of contamination, drugs, medication, inconsistent composition, and lack of proper screening procedures cannot be overlooked.
Parents considering informal milk sharing should evaluate the possible risks before accepting or sharing breast milk.