breastfeeding awareness

In case you didn’t know, August is National Breastfeeding Month and the Mother’s Milk Bank of Austin is in desperate need of more donations.

You can find out about all the events they have going on this month and learn how to donate and if you are a candidate! 

It’s no secret I am a HUGE advocate for (extended) breastfeeding if you are able, but there are so many Mom’s that can’t and so many babies that desperately need breastmilk to survive.

I absolutely love what the staff at Mother’s Milk Bank (they are NON PROFIT and are in their 13th year!) are doing and wish I were a candidate to donate. They are in desperate need of more milk right now.

** Demand for breastmilk is hospital NICUs is very high right now. So high that the milk bank hasn’t met demand since the end of January. This affects more than Central Texas because MMBA is the nonprofit milk processor and dispenser of donor human milk for more than 60 hospitals in Texas and 15 other states.**

 

Here are a few pictures from my tour last year (any guesses as to what Nathan was doing in that one picture?) – after our tour we were treated to cookies and … well, MILK, of course! :

Photo Courtesy of Mother’s Milk Bank Austin

Photo Courtesy of Mother’s Milk Bank Austin

Photo Courtesy of Mother’s Milk Bank Austin

  Here are some facts that were provided to me, so I can share them with you. I am just copying and pasting so I don’t forget anything important!

About Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin

• The Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin is a nonprofit milk bank in its 13th year of pasteurizing and dispensing donor human milk for medically fragile infants
• All medically needy babies with a prescription for donor milk will receive it from The Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin, regardless of insurance or financial resources
• The Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin has not completely filled a hospital order since January 2012

 

About Breastmilk

• Breast milk is best for most babies, but life-saving for preterm infants—the very infants who are least likely to have milk from their own mothers
• Neonatologists who care for the tiniest and most fragile patients use donor human milk because it provides immunologic and growth factors as well as optimal nutrition.
• There are options for sharing breast milk, but sharing milk with a nonprofit milk bank is a decision to care for the most fragile of the next generation
• Demand for human milk outpaces the Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin’s supply. Life-saving milk is needed today.

The Numbers

• 1 in 8 babies are born premature
• A mathematical model shows that 9 million ounces of milk is needed per year in order to feed and protect the most fragile babies – preterm infants weighing approximately 3 pounds each, and less
• The 11 nonprofit milk banks in the US dispensed 2.15 million ounces of milk in 2011 – far below the target needed
• MMBA has processed and dispensed 172,000 ounces to date – and failed to meet more than 26,000 ounces of requests for milk by hospitals
• All healthy, lactating mothers with a baby under 1 year of age should consider becoming a donor to a milk bank
• Becoming a donor is an easy 4-day process, with all expenses covered by the milk bank

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Additional Background Information on The Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin

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The Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin is one of the largest suppliers of donor human milk to hospitals across Texas and in 14 states. It is a non-profit organization that accepts, pasteurizes and dispenses donor human milk by physician prescription, primarily to premature and ill infants. The pasteurized breast milk dispensed is scientifically analyzed to meet the specific needs of fragile and sick babies, serving babies with the greatest medical needs regardless of family’s ability to pay.The Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin provides donor milk to more than 60 hospitals across Texas and the U.S., where mothers’ own milk and donor human milk are the standard of care for premature infants. Premature infants who are fed with human milk decrease their risks of a serious and life-threatening intestinal infection known as necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC.
Though rates of premature birth remain steady in the U.S., at one in 8 live births, the demand for donor human milk is rising because of its effectiveness.
Women who are lactating can donate milk to The Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin regardless of where they live. Prospective donors may call toll-free 1-877-813-6455 or visit www.milkbank.org for more information.