Comments on The Lactivist Breastfeeding Blog: Is The International Breast Milk Project a Scam?

Thanks for pointing out important differences betw...

2008-06-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

Thanks for pointing out important differences between not-for-profit milk banks and pharmaceutical companies. Most of the press coverage does not really examine Prolacta's behind-the-scenes involvement.

Karribeth,I need to correct a few inaccuracies fro...

2008-01-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

Karribeth,

I need to correct a few inaccuracies from your comment.

1.) HMBANA milk banks will all accept milk from mother's of babies up to one year old. Some are now accepting milk beyond that point (including the one here in Ohio.)

2.) The fact that insurance pays for it is actually one of the main reasons we SHOULD be concerned about Prolacta. HMBANA banks charge

I think you can find something wrong with anything...

2008-01-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

I think you can find something wrong with anything if you look hard enough. All milk banks "sell" the processed milk, some charge hospitals/mothers more than others. Prolacta adds fortifiers to the processed breastmilk. They don't just pasturize like many banks. I've sent 1100 oz thus far to a bank that uses prolacta. I have no problem doing it. It's still going to a needy baby, and that's what

there are not 800 donors there were 800 people tha...

2008-01-23T10:11:00.000-08:00

there are not 800 donors there were 800 people that applied. Please get your facts right before posting. I am not meaning to be rude, but you are talking a lot of people into not donating and don't have the facts correct. I am sorry if this sounds ugly I promise I do not mean it to be.

Isgard,You can try Milk Share. :) http://milkshare...

2007-10-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

Isgard,

You can try Milk Share. :)

http://milkshare.birthingforlife.com/

Bravo Julie. Despite the fact, that some company h...

2007-10-09T12:44:00.000-07:00

Bravo Julie.
Despite the fact, that some company has to face a scandal about their profit making, any help for the poor babies is better than throwing the milk in the trashcan.
To be proactive: can someone tell me where to donate my frozen breast milk? I am super healthy, but happen to live in Germany at the wrong time (mad cow disease, but I am vegetarian!!!!)
Well, maybe you have

Some people just always find wrong-doings in thing...

2007-07-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

Some people just always find wrong-doings in things that should be godsends.....get off it! While it's not great to know that someone may be profiting, the funding is needed to have an outcome at all, and I still feel good knowing that little tiny helpless babies that can't choose anything themselves are helped by my milk....and they may be making money but when the little babies that recieved my

kort, do you mind if I ask you to clarify, please?...

2007-05-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

kort, do you mind if I ask you to clarify, please? I'm reading your post as saying that you contacted the IBMP intending to donate to Africa, but the IBMP referred you on to a regular Prolacta clinic to donate milk to be sold within the USA? Were you offered no opportunity to donate to Africa, or were you being told that your donation may or may not go there?

There are several donors

my experience...for what it's worth. i donated wi...

2007-05-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

my experience...for what it's worth.

i donated with MMB San Jose. the screening process was rather involved, but everything worked out fine in the end. and overall i had a very positive experience with them.

after watching Oprah, i contacted IBMP who put me in touch with a local clinic. they were very upfront about Prolacta and the money side of things.

i chose

I think it's interesting to notice that the IBMP h...

2007-05-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

I think it's interesting to notice that the IBMP has a new website... where did that funding come from ??

Wow, I find it difficult to believe that the post ...

2007-05-25T10:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, I find it difficult to believe that the post from “Anonymous” was written by a journalist. Questioning Jennifer’s—or anyone else’s—involvement in Africa diverts attention from the issue: Prolacta’s use of donated breast milk. Of course, this raises another problem with the Anonymous post: the author obviously has not done any research! I watched the Oprah episode. If I remember

CP, Interesting and thank you for the update!As I ...

2007-05-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

CP, Interesting and thank you for the update!

As I said, I'm not SAYING that Prolacta is doing anything wrong, I'm simply saying that the numbers don't seem to add up and that both myself and many donor moms are having a hard time getting straight answers.

If Prolacta wants to gather this milk and sell the excess for ANY reason, it's fine by me, SO LONG as the donors are made

The same heckler posted almost identical comments ...

2007-05-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

The same heckler posted almost identical comments on my post on this at Hoyden About Town. S/he used a fake email address and the username "mesamommy".

I am a new reader of your blog, and as a future ph...

2007-05-25T07:46:00.000-07:00

I am a new reader of your blog, and as a future physician, I've really learned a lot of the issues you bring up here.

I thought you'd be interested to know that the IMBP has now changed the answers on the freqently asked questions page and the projects page. Nice to know that a little bad publicity goes a long way.

It now says...
"For our first 3 shipments, 100% of the

I'm going to refrain from pointing out the irony o...

2007-05-25T06:06:00.000-07:00

I'm going to refrain from pointing out the irony of the last few words in your post.

As for "facts" and being a "real reporter."

Umm...I'm not a reporter. I'm just a mom on the Internet asking some questions based on things that those REAL, credible reporters (and Prolacta's own staff via their web site) have written. That's why all of the "facts" in my post have links to the

I have an idea! I first heard about IBMP on Oprah....

2007-05-25T05:24:00.000-07:00

I have an idea! I first heard about IBMP on Oprah. She was endorsing the project Big Time! Remember when Oprah called out that author of the book "A Million Little Pieces" and he admitted that he had lied, etc...??? Oprah does not like to be made a liar!! Maybe you or someone could contact Oprah's show and give her wind of it??? I'm sure things would change if it was exposed on her show. :-)

I think they are able to get away with it by makin...

2007-05-25T05:11:00.000-07:00

I think they are able to get away with it by making it easy. They come to you, will take whatever you have, have many fewer restrictions. And they are EVERYWHERE.

And of course there are the not so great experiences with the HMBANA banks in some locations. I did not donate with my first because of
rude people at the San Jose bank. I contacted the Austin TX bank and the Denver

Jennifer, I think you're doing a great job of cove...

2007-05-25T04:07:00.000-07:00

Jennifer, I think you're doing a great job of covering this issue. When I decided to donate milk back in December, your blog was the first listing that came up on my Google search. As a result, I contacted Bronson Mothers' Milk Bank in Kalamazoo, Michigan. There was some work involved on my part (getting to the doctor's office for a lab test, then buying dry ice and driving to a Fed Ex place

1) Speaking of credibility, who should we trust fo...

2007-05-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

1) Speaking of credibility, who should we trust for accuracy Time.com and Oprah or....someone who sells Nip/Suck shirts?
2) What are you doing to help babies in Africa?
3) As a journalist, when we report, we normally give the facts. Obviously you are not a journalist, but perhaps you should strive for better accuracy and consider explaining the reason why Prolacta fortifiers cost more

Did anyone think to find out if the woman who star...

2007-05-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

Did anyone think to find out if the woman who started this organization, Jill Youse, works for Prolacta or one of its affiliated companies...you might find an very interesting answer.....

Thank you SOO much for this post. I have been dona...

2007-05-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

Thank you SOO much for this post. I have been donating through IMBP for several months now and chose them specifically for the places my donations would end up (Africa and several NICU's). In researching them, as well as during the interview process, I was specifically told they were NOT selling donated milk at a profit.

They made the screening process a breeze (as someone else said by

Thank you for posting this. I'm one of the moms wh...

2007-05-23T06:11:00.000-07:00

Thank you for posting this. I'm one of the moms who had emailed you in the past few months about this. I was in the middle of the process at the time and continued with it and got my pump & supplies. Just like elizabeth f., though, I haven't sent them any milk and doubt I will now.

Thanks, Jen. I thought about donating to this prog...

2007-05-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Jen. I thought about donating to this program, but the more research I did, the more skeptical I became.

I work in the charity world and this project just doesn't feel right to me. All of my professional alarm bells are going off.

OK, I am currently in the screening process to don...

2007-05-22T23:42:00.000-07:00

OK, I am currently in the screening process to donate milk, but I haven't got to the donor kit part yet nor have I sent them any milk. I desperately want to donate to a not for profit milk bank but my milk is "tainted" with mad cow disease (I lived in Europe for 8 years during the peak of mad cow disease, so they won't take my milk even though I was only 2 when I moved there so not eating a lot

$35 per ounce?! Yeesh...and people thought they co...

2007-05-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

$35 per ounce?! Yeesh...and people thought they couldn't afford formula. Why on earth are they allowed to charge that much and is it covered by insurance companies?

It's a shame so many women are spending their time and effort pumping for a good cause, only to be taken advantage of for their kindness.