Human breast milk sales have risen a notch as the industry begins to target adults in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province, Shenyang Evening Post reports.

An advertisement hiring wet nurses is seen in Chengdu in southwest China. Wet nurses are hired to provide human breast milk for adults in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province. [Photo/news.sohu.com]

The saying in Shenzhen is that human breast milk is rich in nutrients and good for adults. Wet nurses can be hired for about 15,000 yuan (2,381 US dollars) per month to provide milk. The "client" can drink straight from the breast or from bottles.

Many people have joined the debate as the market for breast milk expands. Wang Bin, who has first-hand experience of drinking human breast milk, says he finds the idea of consuming breast milk hard to accept and says that drinking directly from a woman's breast appears to be extremely embarrassing.

Zhang Maoxiang, a doctor from the Second People's Hospital of Shenzhen, thinks that an adult drinking from a woman's breast implies far more than the act itself, hinting instead at pornography and fetishism. The fact that wet nurses in good health with an attractive appearance get paid more seems to back up such speculation.

Others are concerned that adults are exploiting wet nurses and taking what is intended for babies from their mothers.

Experts say that the health value of human breast milk is ridiculously overstated. Wang Xingguo from the Dalian Municipal Central Hospital says human milk is more harmful to adults than it is useful. It contains more lactose than adults can digest and may cause diarrhea.

Adults can gain the amount of nutrients that they require from cow's milk.

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