http://www.worldmilksharingweek.org/
In honor of this week, I am going to write about the who, what, where, when, why and how of milk sharing. Let's begin with the WHAT...
What is "Milk Sharing":
When a mom that has plenty/extra breastmilk not being used and wants to share it with a mom that for whatever reason is not able to provide enough breastmilk of her own for her child, but, doesn't want or can't use formula.
Why "Milk Share":
There are many reasons parents seek out milk sharing for their babies. Some preemies are very formula intolerant and develop necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) because of this. Studies have shown that preemies fed breastmilk are less likely to develop the condition.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110430171122.htm
Some moms have had double mastectomies and cannot breastfeed, but, want their children to still get the milk instead.
Some women have insufficient glandular tissue (IGT) and find it hard to produce quite enough. Therefore, they choose donor milk to bridge the gap instead of formula.
Other moms adopt and find that relactaction is not something they want to do or can't do, so, donor milk it is.
Another reason some people go for donor milk is that the mom has passed away soon before or after the birth of the child and the dad knew mom wanted to nurse and chooses to get donor milk for baby.
Then, there are beauties like Anaya(She is a 2 y/o with Krabbe's Disease http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002178/) who have thrived off the generosity of others. She has grown by leaps and bounds from the donations of breastmilk since she was born. https://www.facebook.com/TheAnayaInitiative , http://healinganaya.blogspot.com/p/about-anaya.html
Where And When is "Milk Sharing" happening:
EVERYWHERE and EVERYDAY!!!!! And I will show you who is helping!!!!
Who is helping with "Milk Sharing":
Human Milk 4 Human Babies (HM4HB)
http://www.hm4hb.net/index.html (Main page, be sure to visit the other pages)
Eats On Feets
http://eatsonfeets.org/#about (About page, be sure to visit the other pages)
How to "Milk Share":
Both of these organizations can be found on Facebook where you can find your local chapter and post on their wall to find a donor to supply you with milk or to find a family in need of your extra milk.
This simple explanation of milksharing is so great! Thanks for writing it, and for linking up in my blog hop!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!! I felt a straight to the point black and white explanation would help more people understand and perhaps see it as a viable option.
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