Yes, sisters can share breast milk, but it carries health risks like transmitting infections (HIV, Hepatitis) or contaminants (medications, drugs) if not properly screened and pasteurized, so official guidelines from the FDA and AAP recommend against casual sharing and suggest using milk banks or getting medical advice, though informal sharing among trusted family (like sisters) is common with awareness of potential issues.
Perfectly fine. Human milk is human milk. The only potential problem is if one mother ends up feeding more kids than she can comfortably produce milk for.
It is very unlikely that a child would be at risk for hepatitis B or C by receiving another mother's breast milk. Hepatitis B and C cannot be spread from a woman to a child through breastfeeding or close contact unless there is exposure to blood.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends against the use of direct, internet-based, or informal human milk sharing. They point to the risk of contamination with bacteria, viruses, and toxins such as pesticides, mercury, medications, drugs, or herbs.
The actual risk for transmission of an infectious agent to an infant via a single ingestion of expressed breast milk (the most common occurrence) from another mother is exceedingly low.
The "4-4-4 rule" for breast milk is a simple storage guideline: fresh milk is good for 4 hours at room temperature (up to 77°F/25°C), for 4 days in the refrigerator (39°F/4°C or colder), and up to 4-6 months (or longer) in a standard freezer (0°F/-18°C). It's a handy mnemonic, though some organizations like the CDC recommend up to 6 months in the freezer and the AAP up to 9 months, with deeper freezers offering even longer storage.
Serious Illnesses and Breastfeeding
You might be able to induce lactation (start to produce milk), and then build up your milk supply by putting your baby to your breast often and/ or expressing. Some adoptive and non-gestational parents stimulate milk production by using a breast pump every 2-3 hours, before the baby comes.
Alia Bhatt recently spoke about her postpartum journey, sharing how breastfeeding her daughter Raha naturally helped her lose weight. But what drew attention was the pace of her recovery, sparking online conversations.
The average cost is $3-$5 per ounce, and babies can consume between 32 and 48 ounces of milk per day. In states where neither Medicaid nor commercial insurance covers donor milk, families sometimes buy unregulated breast milk online or receive donated milk from friends or family because it can be less expensive.
It is a common practice in many cultures for a grandmother to relactate so that she may breastfeed her grandchild.
You have ever injected illegal drugs. You have ever had intimate contact with anyone at risk for HIV, human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV), or infectious hepatitis. You smoke, use any tobacco product, a nicotine patch, or an e-cigarette. Your baby is breastfed and not gaining weight or growing as well as expected.
Analysis of mother's milk shows that a mother who delivers a newborn does produce colostrum and milk designed to meet the needs of the newborn, even though the mother is still nursing a toddler. This offers the desired advantages for the newborn but no adverse consequences for the older child.
But people should be informed that nursing a 6-7+year-old is a perfectly normal and natural and healthy thing to be doing for the child, and that their fears of emotional harm are baseless."
The American Academy of Pediatrics (APA) recommends that parents avoid using breast milk obtained directly from others or through the Internet. The reason is that there is a risk of contamination by bacteria, viruses, or other substances (such as certain medications).
If your mixed feeding involves exchanging some breastfeeds for baby formula, then your baby will not receive as many benefits as they normally would if they were exclusively breastfed. As such, their immune system may not be as well protected from certain infections1.
Bollywood actor and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan gave birth to Aradhya in 2011. She breastfed her little one for a long time. "Enjoy your motherhood years, no matter how consuming it might be. Always remember that having a child is a blessing.
Alia Bhatt was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and anxiety; she has been vocal about her mental health.
Kareena Kapoor Khan shared why breastfeeding Jeh felt like an achievement.
The "4-4-4 rule" for breast milk is a simple storage guideline: fresh milk is good for 4 hours at room temperature (up to 77°F/25°C), for 4 days in the refrigerator (39°F/4°C or colder), and up to 4-6 months (or longer) in a standard freezer (0°F/-18°C). It's a handy mnemonic, though some organizations like the CDC recommend up to 6 months in the freezer and the AAP up to 9 months, with deeper freezers offering even longer storage.
Galactorrhea is a condition that causes your breasts to leak milk when you aren't pregnant or haven't recently given birth. While it may be embarrassing, it's not a life-threatening condition and goes away with treatment.
A woman can only act as a wet nurse if she is lactating (producing milk). It was once believed that a wet nurse must have recently undergone childbirth in order to lactate. This is not necessarily the case, as regular breast stimulation can elicit lactation via a neural reflex of prolactin production and secretion.
Breast milk is more than 80% water. If you think your baby is thirsty, you can offer an extra breastfeed. Many mothers find that their babies want to breastfeed more often on hot days. Giving water to a baby under six months can cause diarrhoea and lead to malnutrition.
Epithelial cells, which contain both RNA and DNA, make up 50–90% of cell types found in human breastmilk. 15 Analyses of RNA and DNA from human milk provide a platform to better under- stand the mechanism for compositional variability and neo- natal outcomes.
What foods and drinks should I limit or avoid while breastfeeding?