Breast milk for sale on the internet can pose serious health risks, experts have warned.
Milk sold online can be cheaper than from regulated milk banks, and is often bought by mothers who are unable to breastfeed, as well as cancer sufferers, fetishists and bodybuilders.
Research published in the British Medical Journal said stricter regulation is needed as it could be potentially dangerous - especially for babies.
The report said women often feel pressurised by 'emotive, moralising discourse around breast feeding' and the belief that 'formula is inferior to human milk'.
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'In the absence of warnings about the dangers of buying milk online, this option might seem healthy and beneficial - the better choice if one can't breast feed oneself,' it added.
'What mothers, and many healthcare workers, don't realise is that this market is dangerous, putting infant health at risk.'
The report said milk should be screened for diseases, such as hepatitis B and C, HIV and human T cell lymphotropic virus and syphilis.
Healthcare workers should be offered training on the online market so they can provide good advice and offer safe alternatives to new mothers, it added.
Previous research has shown that milk purchased online has more bacterial growth due to lack of pasteurisation and poor shipping and storage.
One study showed that only nine out of 101 samples did not have bacterial growth.
Others revealed that 25 per cent of milk samples were delivered with poor packaging and were no longer frozen, and had been contaminated with drugs and other substances.
'At present milk bought online is a far from ideal alternative, exposing infants and other consumers to microbiological and chemical agents,' the report led by the Global Health, Policy and Innovation Unit at Queen Mary University London concluded.
'Urgent action is required to make this market safer.'
Selling the milk has become big business in the United States, and women in the UK are now increasingly offering up their surplus milk.
Websites such as onlythebreast.co.uk offer a forum for mothers to sell or donate their milk, with headings such as 'Nuneaton; fatty, nutritious, healthy breast milk' and 'Dairy free breast milk for sale - Dagenham'.
Sellers usually add a small profile about themselves with details such as whether they drink alcohol or caffeine, smoke or take drugs.
It also features buyers' listings, with the biggest category by far headed 'men wanting milk'.
It was set up in the US, where the original website appears to have many more users, but none are milk bank certified.
Those wanting to give away their milk for free can also donate to one of 15 milk banks registered with the United Kingdom Association for Milk Banking charity, which donates breast milk to premature and sick babies.
Other forums for sharing milk include a Facebook group, 'Human Milk 4 Human Babies'.
Bodybuilders wanting to build up their muscles have also become keen consumers of breast milk, while many cancer sufferers have spoken about its benefits in building up their immune systems.
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