What Is the Going Rate for....
Breast milk? hm? What do you think?
The last time I pumped was on Saturday and I got a measley 3 oz. My breasts are in shutdown mode, but are engorged on the way to total shutdown and retirement from service. As I said to W the other morning, I could easily have kept pumping and sold the stuff. He looked slightly disgusted and said, " I am not sure I would want to know anybody who would buy it."
I started to wonder if there existed a market for such. Apparently there is. The going rate per ounce? $1.00-1.50 per ounce. Ouch. That's a lot of money, folks. More than bottled water! More than high octane gasoline. Not quite as precious as diamonds or gold, though.
As I sit here, my mind is going over the math. I could produce 45 oz/day in 1.75 hr and estimating a modest $1.00/oz cleared (say the extra 50 cents went to storage, shipping & handling), then that is equivalent to $25.71/hr. Add the bonus of burning all those extra calories and suddenly it doesn't seem like such a crazy idea, does it?
So the question remains, how long would it last without a baby there? Would a woman's body be able to perpetually produce milk as long as it was demanded? What would be the long term effects of doing so?
Who would buy such a product? I know the easy answers - moms of little ones who cannot supply it on their own and instead would look toward supplementing with formula. Another thing came to me in my search - apparently it is also used for baby animals who do not have another source (like the mother). What other health reasons would require it?
The last time I pumped was on Saturday and I got a measley 3 oz. My breasts are in shutdown mode, but are engorged on the way to total shutdown and retirement from service. As I said to W the other morning, I could easily have kept pumping and sold the stuff. He looked slightly disgusted and said, " I am not sure I would want to know anybody who would buy it."
I started to wonder if there existed a market for such. Apparently there is. The going rate per ounce? $1.00-1.50 per ounce. Ouch. That's a lot of money, folks. More than bottled water! More than high octane gasoline. Not quite as precious as diamonds or gold, though.
As I sit here, my mind is going over the math. I could produce 45 oz/day in 1.75 hr and estimating a modest $1.00/oz cleared (say the extra 50 cents went to storage, shipping & handling), then that is equivalent to $25.71/hr. Add the bonus of burning all those extra calories and suddenly it doesn't seem like such a crazy idea, does it?
So the question remains, how long would it last without a baby there? Would a woman's body be able to perpetually produce milk as long as it was demanded? What would be the long term effects of doing so?
Who would buy such a product? I know the easy answers - moms of little ones who cannot supply it on their own and instead would look toward supplementing with formula. Another thing came to me in my search - apparently it is also used for baby animals who do not have another source (like the mother). What other health reasons would require it?
3 Comments:
I wonder how long a body could make it?
It could be looked at the same way as donated blood or other organs.....?
That's a wild thought... but it's been done through the ages, right?
I would assume as long as there is some sort of stimulous to keep producing milk - think back in the olden days there were wet nurses...they were like human bottles....
BTW there are breastmilk banks out there where people can donate breastmilk for others to use
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