How do donors know that the person requesting milk really needs it?

All babies, including young children up to 2 years and beyond, benefit from breastmilk.1

Although Eats on Feets focuses on breastmilk for babies and young children, sometimes medical needs arise for older children or adults. Eats on Feets does not put an age range on pediatric needs,2 and reposting these needs will be up to the discretion of our admins.

A strong case can be made for the medical use of breastmilk by adults. Eats on Feets supports informed choice and a person’s right to share breastmilk with whomever they choose. Adult needs are welcome on our network, but will not be posted or shared by our admins on our pages and they cannot be anonymous in our groups.

It is suggested that donors get to know the recipients and inquire about how their breastmilk will be used. Some adults might request milk for non-medical reasons.3 Eats on Feets encourages families to practice safe social networking.

_______________

  1. World Health Organization. Unicef. 2003. Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, bullet 10, p. 14, the WHO states: “Breastfeeding is an unequaled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers. As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development, and health. Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond.↩︎
  2. Food and Drug Administration. 2003. Pediatric Expertise for Advisory Panels. Nonbinding guidance for the use of medical devices.
    Pediatric Populations
    For purposes of this guidance, we are defining pediatric subpopulations as shown below.
    Pediatric SubpopulationApproximate Age Range
    NewbornBirth to 1 month of age
    Infant1 month to 2 years of age
    Child2 to 12 years of age
    Adolescent12-21 years of age
    “Although the upper age limit used to define the pediatric population varies among experts, including adolescents up to the age of 21 is consistent with the definition found in several well-known sources. The Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) believes this age range is generally appropriate for the use of medical devices in pediatric subpopulations but recognizes that there may be cases in which the pediatric population should be defined differently, depending upon the type of device.” ↩︎
  3. Claire Levenson. Archived. Mothers selling breastmilk … to men ↩︎