The lacktivism debate has been raging for years with advocates promoting health benefits of breast milk. Even the fact that the naturally produced breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert of human babies is being bought and sold in an ulterior Internet economy is nothing new, but a study released October 21st has health officials worried about the sanitation risks.
Published in the journal Pediatrics, the study examined 101 samples of breast milk bought online from two popular websites and discovered high bacterial levels in about 75% of them.
Before everyone freaks out and starts buying shelves of formula*, it’s important to emphasize that this is only the first study on the subject. Furthermore, the Pediatrics study also found disease-causing bacteria in 7 of 20 samples obtained from milk banks—samples that had undergone screening. Dr. Ekhard Ziegler of the University of Iowa understands the need for concern but doesn’t want to jump to conclusions just yet, as researchers have yet to study infants who receive Internet milk and incidents of illness.
Basically, nothing is confirmed as safe or not safe. So, bottoms up, kids!
*you should be terrified of formula, too.
You can read more about the report on Al Jazeera and, for you science-y types, check out the report itself.
Thanks to Al Jazeera and Pediatrics
Image via Al Jazeera
