Chinese Milk Crisis Creates Mkt For Alternatives

In China's spiraling milk-contamination crisis, some mothers are making money selling their breast milk.

As news spread of the deadly taint of the industrial chemical melamine in China's milk supply last week, new father Jimandy Wu approached his wife with a business proposition: She could become a nai ma, or wet nurse. He had read on the Internet about the practice, in which a woman feeds her own breast milk to someone else's child.

'Why not,' says his 24-year-old wife, Tina Huang, a mother in the southern Chinese boomtown of Shenzhen who says she produces more milk than her own 2-month-old baby can use. 'It's a pity that I waste my breast milk when I see on TV so many kids with no milk to drink because of the contaminated powder.'

Ms. Huang's old job as a secretary paid just 1,000 yuan ($146) a month. The 12,000 yuan she will earn each month as a wet nurse will 'buy some good clothes for our daughter, and send her to a better kindergarten,' says Mr. Wu.

As Chinese parents panic about the tainted milk -- which authorities now admit began in late 2007 -- that has killed four and sickened more than 53,000 children, the fallout is breathing new life into an ancient profession. Wages for Chinese wet nurses, who post online ads and sign up at housework agencies around the country, have doubled since the milk crisis began on Sept. 12. They now run as high as 18,000 yuan a month.

On Tuesday in a residential Shenzhen neighborhood, six new mothers showed up looking for work at Zhong Jia Family Services Co., which serves as a broker for maids and, increasingly, women like Ms. Huang. 'I've been working in this industry for over 10 years, and never seen such a craze for wet nurses,' says Ai Xiaoxiong, the company's manager. Since Friday, Mr. Ai has registered 260 available women and found employment for 20.

While doctors say any breast milk from a healthy woman will help a baby grow and protect it against disease, the practice of having another woman nurse one's own baby was largely abandoned in the West in the 19th century. But the practice is common in a number of countries. China also has a long tradition of wet nursing, but the Communist Party considered the practice decadent and tried to stamp it out.

Breast-feeding is on the decline in China, where commercial formulas are heavily marketed. According to China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of poor rural women who breast-feed slipped to 38% in 2005 from 62% in 2000. The reasons for the decline vary, but many people appear to believe that formula is somehow better for their children. Among some wealthier families, a busy lifestyle gets in the way.

Many public-health experts promote breast-feeding. 'This formula scandal is like nature's wake-up call to all of us. It's not just about unscrupulous manufacturers,' says Yanhong Wheeler, a breast-feeding advocate and author under the pen name Xiao Wu who is often compared in China to the late Benjamin Spock, the famous pediatrician and author. 'We really must pay closer attention to . . . what we feed our offspring.'

Some parents searching for a wet nurse say they're desperate for an alternative to possibly tainted milk powder. Xiao Guidong, the father of a 4-month-old in the city of Chongqing, posted an ad on a popular online message board asking for a wet nurse who was 'in perfect health, has plenty of milk, and has good hygiene.' He's offering to pay the woman 3,000 yuan a month, plus free room and board.

'My mom takes care of my son,' says Mr. Xiao, who recently divorced his wife. 'I need a wet nurse urgently, especially because so much milk powder has problems.'

The upswing in demand for wet nurses is raising moral questions. It's often the poor who end up selling their milk. 'Many people look down on this job. I do it because I have no other method to earn more money,' says a woman named Ms. He, 24, from the northwestern Chinese city of Lanzhou. She runs an online ad selling her services.

Then there's the problem of what to do with a wet nurse's own child, since many of the women move in with their employers and, sometimes, they aren't allowed to bring their own babies to work. Ms. Huang, the prospective wet nurse, says she's willing to leave her own 2-month-old baby at home if that's what her employer wants. 'We can feed our baby with some other food, such as rice water,' she says.

Mr. Xiao says he doesn't want another baby in his house. 'If she feeds my son while her own son is crying, I cannot stand that,' he says.

He admits some might view hiring a wet nurse as exploitation, but he disagrees. 'They need higher pay and a better job while I need them to look after my baby. It is a good deal. We help each other,' he says.

To make sure that everyone is on the same page, Mr. Ai, the Shenzhen agent, requires that any potential wet nurse come into his office with her husband. 'I have to ask the husband face-to-face whether he will let his wife work as a wet nurse,' he says.

Scouting for employees, he also asks to see a mother's natural baby. 'Look at how fat this baby is,' says Mr. Ai, pointing at prospective wet nurse Zhang Amei's 4-month-old son, Zhang Youmin, who looks like a little Michelin Man. 'The fatter the baby, the better the milk,' he says.

It's a point of pride for Ms. Zhang, too. 'My milk is really good. My elderly relatives say the color and density are as good as formula,' says the 28-year-old.

Quantity is also important. 'Her milk is sufficient to feed three babies,' says Mr. Ai.

Ms. Zhang demurs. 'Maybe only two.'

Mr. Ai provides employees professional training on 'ethics, etiquette and attitude' -- such as the best way to hold your employer's baby -- to help ease the emotional and physical transition. He also asks that the families go to the hospital together while the wet nurse gets a checkup.

Some prospective wet nurses say that making a good match with the family whose baby they're going to feed is their only priority. Ms. Zhang, mother of the fat baby, says she first tried wet nursing when she gave some of her extra milk to her neighbor's baby.

'We do not care that much about money as long as we can make friends with the other family,' says her 38-year-old husband, Zhang Mingchuan.

'I was so angry when I read about the contaminated milk,' says Ms. Zhang. 'I had to help.'

在中国牛奶污染危机不断加剧之时，一些母亲开始靠出售自己的乳汁赚钱。

随着中国的牛奶被有毒化学品三聚氰胺污染的消息上周流传开来，深圳市初为人父的Jimandy Wu向妻子提出了一项“业务”：她可以当一名奶妈，也就是用自己的乳汁喂养人家的孩子。他在网上看到过有关这个行业的消息。

他24岁的妻子、当了妈妈的Tina Huang说，为什么不呢，她说自己的乳汁很多，两个月大的孩子根本吃不完。在电视上看到很多孩子因为奶粉受污染而吃不上奶，觉得自己的乳汁白白浪费太可惜了。

Huang以前的工作是当秘书，月薪只有人民币1,000元（146美元）。而当奶妈每个月能挣12,000元，Wu说，这些钱可以给女儿买一些好衣服，还能送她上好点的幼儿园。

毒牛奶事件已经导致4名儿童死亡，逾53,000名患病，相关当局目前承认这起事件始于2007年底。中国家长们对此事恐慌不已，结果让一门古老的职业得以新生。在网上发布广告以及在全国各地家政机构注册的中国奶妈薪水自9月12日牛奶危机爆发以来已经翻了一倍，现在最高可达每月18,000元人民币。

周二，在深圳一个居民小区，6位新生儿的妈妈来到中家家政公司找工作，这家公司为家政工人以及越来越多的像Huang一样的女性充当中介。该公司经理艾晓雄说，他在这个行业已经干了十几年，从来没见过奶妈这么抢手。从周五开始，艾晓雄已经登记了260位可以当奶妈的妇女，并为其中20个人找到了雇主。

虽然医生说健康女性的乳汁有助于孩子的成长，并能增强孩子的抗病能力，但西方在19世纪就基本上摒弃了让别的女人来喂养自己孩子的做法。但是这种做法在一些国家仍然很普遍。中国的奶妈行业也有相当悠久的传统，但共产党认为这种做法腐朽堕落，试图予以取缔。

母乳喂养的情况在中国日渐减少，配方奶粉则出现热销。据中国疾病预防控制中心的数据，贫困农村妇女的母乳喂养比例从2000年的62%下降到2005年的38%。下滑的原因多种多样，但许多人似乎都认为配方奶对孩子更有好处。在富裕程度更高的家庭，繁忙的生活方式成了母乳喂养的障碍。

许多公共卫生专家都提倡母乳喂养。主张母乳喂养、笔名“小巫”的Yanhong Wheeler在中国常常被与已故著名儿科医师和作家斯波克(Benjamin Spock)相提并论。她说，这次的配方奶丑闻就像大自然给我们所有人敲响的警钟，其责任不仅仅在无良商家身上，我们真的需要更加关心给孩子吃什么的问题。

一些寻找奶妈的人说，他们迫切地想找到可能受到污染的奶粉的替代品。重庆市的肖桂东（音）有一个4个月大的孩子，他在一个网络论坛上发布了寻找奶妈的广告，要求身体健康、乳汁充足、有良好的卫生习惯。他给出的薪水为每月3,000元，并提供免费食宿。

最近刚刚跟妻子离婚的肖桂东说，他的母亲给他照看孩子，他急需一名奶妈，尤其是在这么多奶粉都有问题的情况下。

奶妈需求激增也引发了道德方面的问题。出卖自己乳汁的通常都是穷人。来自中国西北城市兰州的何女士说，很多人都看不起这种工作，我干这个只是因为没有别的法子能多赚点钱。24岁的她在网上为自己发了一个广告。

还有一个问题就是，这些奶妈自己的孩子怎么办，因为很多奶妈都跟雇主一起生活，有时她们被禁止带自己的孩子去雇主家。想成为奶妈的黄女士说，如果雇主有要求，她愿意将两个月大的亲生孩子留在家里。她说，我们可以用其他的东西喂自己的孩子，比如米汤。

肖桂东说，他不想让自己家里有另一个孩子，如果奶妈给他儿子喂奶，她自己的孩子却在哭，他可受不了。

他承认有的人会认为雇奶妈是剥削，但他不同意这种看法。他说，她们需要更高的薪水和更好的工作，而我需要她们照看我的孩子，这是很好的交易，我们互相帮助。

为了确保所有人意见一致，深圳的家政经理艾晓雄要求所有想当奶妈的人跟丈夫一起到他的办公室。他说，我得当面问她们的老公，他愿不愿意让老婆去当奶妈。

在招募奶妈的过程中，他还要求看看这位母亲的亲生孩子。艾晓雄指着想当奶妈的张爱梅（音）4个月大的儿子张佑明（音）说，看这孩子多胖。张佑明看上去简直像是米其林轮胎广告小人。艾晓雄说，孩子越胖，就说明乳汁越好。

28岁的张爱梅也为此自豪不已。她说，我的乳汁真的很好，长辈都说颜色和浓度跟配方奶一样好。

乳汁的量也很重要。艾晓雄说，她的乳汁足够三个婴儿吃的。

张爱梅提出异议说，可能只够两个。

艾晓雄在“道德、礼仪和态度”方面为员工提供专业培训－－比如说抱雇主孩子的最佳方式－－以减轻情绪和身体状况的波动。他还要求奶妈体检时雇主一家人也一块儿去。

一些准奶妈说，和雇主的契合度是她们认为最重要的。那个胖小子的母亲张爱梅说，她第一次尝试当奶妈是将多余的乳汁喂给邻居的孩子。

她的丈夫、38岁的张明传（音）说，我们并不是很在乎钱，只要能跟其他的家庭交朋友就行。

张爱梅说，看到毒牛奶的消息我气坏了，我得伸出援手。