FAST FACTS:
Scott.Noll@wreg.com
(Milford, OH 11/23/09) Got milk? It's a slogan known across the nation, but some mothers are taking it seriously by selling their own breast milk.
It may sound unusual, but, as WREG On Your Side Investigators learned, it's happening a lot more than you think.
A quick internet search will show you just how common the practice is.
On one website discussing the sale of breast milk, there are 30 pages of responses from people either selling, buying, or looking for more information about the business of breast milk.
For Amy Janson, the decision to breast feed was a no-brainer.
"It's almost a miracle of your body sustaining a life," explained Janson.
But within weeks of her daughter's birth, she found her body was producing far more milk then newborn Isla could handle.
"I was producing about 20 to 30 extra ounces in a day," said Janson.
As the pumped milk began to pile-up in the freezer, Janson worried it would go to waste.
That's when a friend gave her an idea.
"You can buy cow's milk, why not mother's milk?" Janson recalled thinking when she heard other mothers were selling their breast milk.
Last July, Janson became part of that growing list.
"For a mother who wished she could have breast fed and really does see the benefits of breast milk, I just wanted to be able to give that to someone else," Janson explained.
She's not alone.
Since August, WREG On Your Side Investigators have found on-line ads from mothers in Tennessee, Arkansas and as nearby as Olive Branch MIssissippi.
- Hundreds of mothers turning to the internet to sell their breast milk
- Practice is legal, but unregulated in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Kansas
- Former seller warns other mothers after responses to her ad
Scott.Noll@wreg.com
(Milford, OH 11/23/09) Got milk? It's a slogan known across the nation, but some mothers are taking it seriously by selling their own breast milk.
It may sound unusual, but, as WREG On Your Side Investigators learned, it's happening a lot more than you think.
A quick internet search will show you just how common the practice is.
On one website discussing the sale of breast milk, there are 30 pages of responses from people either selling, buying, or looking for more information about the business of breast milk.
For Amy Janson, the decision to breast feed was a no-brainer.
"It's almost a miracle of your body sustaining a life," explained Janson.
But within weeks of her daughter's birth, she found her body was producing far more milk then newborn Isla could handle.
"I was producing about 20 to 30 extra ounces in a day," said Janson.
As the pumped milk began to pile-up in the freezer, Janson worried it would go to waste.
That's when a friend gave her an idea.
"You can buy cow's milk, why not mother's milk?" Janson recalled thinking when she heard other mothers were selling their breast milk.
Last July, Janson became part of that growing list.
"For a mother who wished she could have breast fed and really does see the benefits of breast milk, I just wanted to be able to give that to someone else," Janson explained.
She's not alone.
Since August, WREG On Your Side Investigators have found on-line ads from mothers in Tennessee, Arkansas and as nearby as Olive Branch MIssissippi.
