Some women end up with a bountiful stash of frozen breast milk — be it from oversupply, a baby in the NICU, or an infant who turns out to be allergic to something in the milk pumped so far. Some of those women are moved to donate the excess milk to a non-profit milk bank. In the past few days, I have heard two women express (no pun intended) frustration at the restrictions posted on women who wish to qualify as breast milk donors. One, whose oversupply and dairy-free diet could certainly have benefited a milk bank, was turned away …read more

All it takes is a few moments of your time to vote for the funding proposal for the Mothers’ Milk Bank of New England on IdeaBlob. If enough people vote (and it only took 600 votes for last month’s winner), the fledgling milk bank receives $10,000 that will be used to buy processing and storage equipment, establish a “Milk Money” fund to help families whose insurance does not cover the processing fees for donor milk, and develop marketing materials for the milk bank. Need more information? Tanya at the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog is spear-heading the effort, after inspiration from The …read more

You do not have to be a breast milk donor to help support your local non-profit mother’s milk bank! Give your time! Many of the milk banks associated with the Human Milk Banking Association of North America rely on the assistance of volunteers. For example, this article in the Orange County Register describes how the Mother’s Milk Bank of San Jose is seeking volunteers for home or office locations in Orange County, California, to serve as “Mother Hubbard” milk depots for the collection of donor milk and distribution of pumping supplies and support.
Check out the contact information below for …read more

Cottontimer alerted me to a fascinating article in The Washington Post today, “Banking on Milk: Options Are Growing for Women Who Can’t Breast-feed” by Shannon Henry. Note that Henry interviewed blogger Jennifer Laycock of The Lactivist for the article!
Women may choose to supplement with another woman’s breast milk for many reasons–perhaps they have adopted a baby or they are taking a medication that is contraindicated for breastfeeding. Women seeking to supplement with another woman’s breast milk have several options:
1. One of the non-profit milk banks that are accredited members of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America. This option …read more