Warning: This article has the potential to totally offend some of you. Deal with it. 

Do you remember being pregnant and sprinkled in amongst all the other annoying questions was the ever-nagging and judgy query  "Are you going to breast feed?".

Well are you? Because in response to the pressures of La Leche Leagues nationwide, other judgy mothers in your circle and your own possible unrelenting guilt there is now a wonderful alternative in the form of a sort of borrowed wet-nurse.

Thats right, a wet nurse. According to a recent article published by the Washington Post, guilt ridden mothers who did not want to poison their babies with formula have turned to black market dealings with other women who pump and sell their breast milk at a profit.  This has become such a popular practice that there are even websites dedicated to the cause, such as onlythebreast.com or mybreastmilkforsale.com where you can buy or sell breast milk or you can opt for a local "Breast Milk Bank". No I did not make that up. Some communities have formed banks for breast milk.

Now this may shock some of you, but the FDA does NOT approve of this practice. Why? Could it be that there is a possibility that one of the breast milk donors is on crack  and you have absolutely no way of knowing? Or maybe its that they could have some sort of breast milk passed disease which, again, you have no way of knowing?

Can we get serious here? The parents utilizing these services would prefer to use the untested, unregulated breast milk of a stranger over rigorously tested, researched and backed formula?

One of the quotes from the Washington Post that most impressed me was this one: 

"I was in a very dark place the day I bought a can of formula," Terry says . . .  Terry cried as she fed Blossom formula for the first time.

So, was she crying because of the horrible things the formula would do to her baby? Or because of all the bad things formula contains? Maybe she is a failure as a mother because she can't breastfeed any longer. Maybe she needs one of those post partum fighting anti-depressants.

The upside maybe that the demand for breastmilk will  fill a gap in this lagging economy. A whole new profession can be re-introduced into society - wet nurses. Just think,the government can step in to regulate, subject these rogue breast pumpers to taxation and bam! Breast milk will boom!

You could buy it at the grocery store or specialty "milk bars" where you choose the type of milk you would like. If you're kosher you would only patronize the kosher milk bars, but the rest of us could choose from all sorts including breast milk only from vegans or we could choose based upon the genetic make up of the donor. The possibilities are endless. I think we should start lobbying for this today. 

Get a grip.  I both pumped and used formula and my biggest issue about no longer pumping was the cost of formula. Oh, and that I might not loose weight as quickly.  

Both of my kids are developmentally on track, healthy, beautiful and have an extra dose of naughtiness. If any issues other than naughtiness turn up, don't worry, I am soo blaming the formula.

Author's note: A special thanks to Becky for providing the lead on this story.

If you would like to read the Washington Post article quoted in the blog, please click  http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health/mothers-share-breast-milk-via-internet-groups-despite-fdas-concerns/2011/02/21/AFcxCZMD_story.html