How to Make Money Selling Breast Milk in the UK
How to Make Money Selling Breast Milk in the UK
Have you ever come across ads or listings of people selling breast milk? Well, if you have, you probably asked yourself lots of questions.
While it does sound strange that people buy and sell breast milk online, well it happens. In fact, people have been buying and selling breast milk since the early 2000s making money in the process.
Want to know how to make money selling breast milk? Read on.
Why Do People Sell Breast Milk?
During the holiday season, parents go to great lengths to raise money for Christmas gifts.
For example, parents with expertise can become a consultant. They can help other people figure out how to start a business, how to invest, and more.
Others can choose to telecommute and work as freelancers from home. They can work as virtual assistants, copywriters, web designers, and social media managers.
One parent in the UK chose a different route. Instead of working overtime or telecommuting, she chose to sell her breastmilk to raise extra cash for Christmas gifts. Sounds like fiction? Well, it’s not.
Make Extra Cash:
Rebecca Hudson, a British mum with four kids, was cash-strapped just before the holidays in 2014. Like any loving parent, she wanted to buy Christmas gifts for her kids so that they don’t feel left out.
She came up with a brilliant idea to sell her breast milk for £12.50 a bottle. Surprise, surprise, from chefs to bodybuilders, they all lined up to buy the 26-year-old homemade formula.
As a Mum of four from Manchester, she managed to raise more than £3,700 by auctioning off the homemade formula online.
While sharing her story, she mentioned that when her daughter was born 10 weeks premature, she struggled to produce milk.
However, it soon arrived in bucketloads. Since her newborn daughter was too small to consume more than 3 ounces a week, she started filling up her home milk storage space.
After filling out her storage space, she went to the local hospital and asked if she could donate her milk.
They told her they did not need it. Since she was cash-strapped and was not ready to give up, Hudson went online and researched. .
She discovered that women in the US were selling their breast milk online.
Once she started, Hudson never looked back. She got more than 8 regular clients, including a chef who uses the milk for cooking and a bodybuilder who needs the milk for its high protein content.
Besides selling breast milk to get extra cash for Christmas gifts, here are more reasons why people sell breast milk.
For Premature Babies:
Human breast milk is in demand because premature babies need it instead of baby formula.
Less than half of the mothers with premature babies are unable to provide sufficient milk just like Rebecca Hudson. Breast milk contains vital nutrients, vitamins, and minerals for the growth of babies.
It also helps to boost the immunity of premature babies giving their bodies defence against diseases.
This is why you find hospitals accepting breast milk donations as it goes to the premature infants.
By giving premature babies breast milk instead of baby formula, they lessen the risk of diseases.
As Natural Medicine:
Human breast milk is one of the most important foods with both health and nutritional benefits for infants and neonates.
It has powerful immunological properties that protect infants from respiratory diseases and others.
Human breast milk is now appreciated to act as natural medicine against other diseases. They include diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, asthma and autoimmunity.
Public nurses have also reported the topical application of breast milk as a treatment for atopic eczema, diaper rash and others. This has led to increased interest in breast milk as a natural medicine for diaper dermatitis and others.
For these reasons, researchers believe that breast milk is vital for areas where mothers and infants don’t have ready access to medicine.
Is It Illegal to Sell Breast Milk in the UK?
For mothers with premature babies or parents who are unable to produce breast milk, buying breast milk online is a hopeful solution.
Feeding human breast milk to a baby improves the child’s immune system, protecting the child from diseases.
For this reason and others, families turn to social media such as Facebook groups in search of women selling breast milk.
According to the Food Standards Agency, human breast milk is classified as food. Therefore, it’s not illegal to buy or sell human breast milk.
There have been attempts where the sale of breast milk got banned. In 2011, The Ice Creamists, a Convent Garden restaurant launched an ice cream made with human breastmilk.
They called it “Baby Gaga.” The product was an instant hit and sold out. Despite pasteurising the breast milk, the Westminster council confiscated the ice cream. They did so over health and safety concerns.
So, is it illegal to sell breast milk in the UK?
At the time of writing, it’s not illegal to sell breast milk in the UK. Mothers like Rebecca Hudson embraced the virtual breast milk-selling business and made lots of sales.
Her customers were not just mothers with babies in need of human breast milk to feed them.
There were also bodybuilders, chefs and other customers who wanted breast milk for nutrition and other purposes.
UK Laws and Regulations:
What you need to know is that in the UK, there are laws that allow customers to sue for harm caused by defective products.
However, it’s challenging for the person suing to prove that the product made by the producer caused damage. Basically, the person will have to prove that the breast milk bought was defective and made them sick.
Before deciding, the court will consider the actions of the mother. For example, did the mother sell the milk on a reputable site and advertise the product as safe or drug-free?
Basically, the person suing has to prove causation which is not easy.
Even when the person suing proves causation, the court will want to know what steps the person suing took before consuming the breast milk.
Did the person suing take steps to pasteurise the milk?
It’s a well-known fact that pasteurisation kills bacteria and even viruses, including HIV. Failure to pasteurise could mean that the person suing will get little or no compensation from the producer.
This is because the court will rule that the person suing did not take steps to pasteurise the milk and prevent the harm suffered.
How Much Can You Sell Breast Milk for in the UK?
In 2014, controversial former model Josie Cunningham decided to sell her breast milk for £2 an ounce to new mothers. She also chose to sell to male milk fetishists at £10 an ounce.
Per day, the former model expected to make £300 a day selling her breast milk.
However, in the same year, the listed average price for breast milk per ounce was 93p for mothers who had difficulty nursing.
Since breast milk production peaks at 30 ounces a day, the former model would have struggled to reach her daily target of £300.
In the same year, a cash-strapped mother of four, 26-year-old Rebecca Hudson sold breast milk online for £12.50 for a 5-ounce bottle. That means she was selling an ounce of breast milk at £2.50.
From selling her breast milk to a variety of customers including chefs and bodybuilders, Hudson made £3,700.
However, she is not the only mother to profit from selling breast milk. Countless women are selling breast milk online to mothers and other interested parties not only in the UK but the US and other countries.
So, how much do you expect to sell your breast milk? Well, expect to earn an average of £1 to £2.50 per ounce depending on your customers.
Where Can You Sell Breast Milk in the UK?
OnlyTheBreast.com:
“Frozen and fresh breast milk! Alcohol and tobacco-free” reads one of the breast milk ads.
Another reads…
Healthy mama selling excess breast milk.
while another ad read,
Happy healthy mom with a nutrient-dense diet free of refined sugar, dairy and processed foods!
These are just some of the ads you can find on OnlyTheBreast, a community where moms sell their breast milk online.
OnlyTheBreast is the brainchild of Chelly, a mother of three. She started the website as a community for moms who want to buy or sell their breast milk.
Before OnlyTheBreast, mothers who wanted to buy or sell breast milk posted their personal info on blogs.
OnlyTheBreast offers a better way where thousands of moms looking to buy or sell their breast milk can do so safely. This classified service provides a network where moms can post ads to buy or sell their breast milk.
To get started, simply visit OnlyTheBreast website, and register to become a member. All you need to provide is your:
- Username
- Password (should be 12 or more characters)
Then click Register, and now you can post your ads. Remember, be polite and respectful as OnlyTheBreast is a family site for moms with thirsty babies.
As such, no nudity, no adult services, no pornography sales and no adult wet nursing ads.
- As an OnlyTheBreast member, there are more things to keep in mind.
- Never give out your personal information, such as your address or financial info.
- Never accept cheques or money orders as a form of payment. OnlyTheBreast recommends using PayPal when it comes to payments. With PayPal, you only need to provide your email address.
- Before you post ads, make a new email for just buying or selling breast milk
- Never put your email address in the body of the ad
- Don’t forget to put the following in your ad: No adult wet nursing, no pictures, no videos, no checks and no scams.
By posting on OnlyTheBreast, you agree not to post prohibited items. If you do, the site will remove the ads and members for violating their terms.
Facebook Group and Online Communities:
You can also find groups and communities for buying and selling breast milk online. All you need to do is a simple Google or Facebook search.
These groups may require you to register with your information to become a member. This allows the admins of these groups to vet you and ensure you’re not a scammer.
The admins will also require you to provide information about your health, special diets, medication, and others.
What you need to remember is that these groups are all unregulated and will not require you to undergo any breast milk screening and blood tests.
If you choose to sell your breast milk via these groups, it’s recommended to do these tests, blood tests and breast milk screening.
You also need to familiarise yourself with the best ways to transport breast milk, how to pump and store the milk. This ensures minimal contamination. You can also go the extra mile and pasteurise the milk.
Where to Donate Breast Milk:
You can donate breast milk to the Human Milk Foundation (HMF) based in Daniel Hall Building, Hertfordshire.
Founded in 2017 by a group of parents and doctors, the team conceived HMF due to frustration at the lack of donor breast milk supply to hospitals.
They were also inspired by the countless stories of mothers in need of access to breast milk for their babies.
This is because they did not meet the criteria for donor milk use via the NHS. Breastfeeding mothers found it impossible to access donor breast milk and so HMF came along to break the vicious circle.
When you become a milk donor, you change the life of another baby and family forever.
To become a milk donor with HMF, you must complete a questionnaire and consent form. To do so, contact the team at HMF. They will post or email the forms to you.
After you complete the forms, HMF will post a kit that contains everything you need for blood tests.
The reason for the blood test is to test all donors for HIV1, HIV2, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis and the human T-lymphotropic virus.
The blood results take 7 to 10 days, and once HMF receives your results, they will send you instructions to arrange for your first collection.
Every container of milk for donation must have a label with your name and Hearts Milk Bank donor ID number. It should also have the date and details of any medication taken in the previous 24 hours.
The Hearts Milk Bank has donor milk hubs in:
- East Midlands
- Norfolk
- Kent
- South Wales
- Sussex
- Northumbria
Here is a map showing the regions Hearts Milk Bank currently accepts milk donors.
UK Milk Banks:
You can also donate to the following milk banks:
- The Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital Milk Bank – Birmingham
- Calderdale and Huddersfield Donor Breast Milk Bank – West Yorkshire
- Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust – London
- Western Trust Milk Bank
- King’s College Hospital Milk Bank – London
- The Milk Bank at Chester
- Milk Bank Scotland – Glasgow
- Oxford Human Milk Bank / John Radcliffe Hospital – Oxford
- Southampton Human Milk Bank – Southampton
- Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital – London
- St Peter’s Hospital Milk Bank / Ashford & St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust – Surrey
- St George’s Hospital Milk Bank – London
- The Southwest Neonatal Network Donor Milk Bank – Bristol
For additional information, visit the UKAmb website.
Final Thoughts…
As previously mentioned, there are no laws governing the sale of breast milk online or in-person. However, you need to be aware of scammers, people who take advantage of others.
You may come across potential buyers who suddenly cancel their orders or even people who give you fake cheques. To avoid getting scammed, be careful.
If you buy breast milk, you’ve no way of knowing if the milk you bought is free from bacteria and viruses.
Some people may use dirty breast pumps, use dirty containers to store the milk or even fail to sanitise their hands before pumping.
To avoid this, buy from reputable marketplaces that have procedures in place to ensure breast milk sold is safe. If selling breast milk, practise the proper methods of extracting, pasteurising and storing breast milk.
This ensures that the product you sell is safe and won’t harm infants.
