by Amy Spangler
May 05, 2007

According to a recent report in Time Magazine, wet-nursing (hiring a woman to breastfeed your baby) and cross-nursing (mothers breastfeeding one another’s babies) is making a comeback.

Robert Feinstock, owner of Certified Household Staffing, a Los Angeles-based agency that supplies wet nurses nationwide, reports that demand has steadily risen in the past four years, despite an average fee of $1,000 a week.

Many women who hire wet nurses do so because they are unable to breastfeed for a variety of reasons, yet know the value of breastfeeding and human milk, and want their child to have both.

While donor human milk can be purchased from the Human Milk Banking Association of North America, currently, here is no formal network for hiring mothers to breastfeed other mothers’ babies.

Regardless of your personal feelings about mothers breastfeeding babies other than their own, it’s important for mothers considering wet-nursing or cross-nursing to know that viruses, such as HIV, can be transmitted via breast milk.

If you are considering wet-nursing or cross-nursing, please discuss the risks as well as the benefits with your health care provider before making a decision. This will ensure the safety of all mothers and babies.