Episode 327

I have brought back one of my favorite guests, Julie Bouchet-Horwitz, who is the  Founder and Director of the New York Milk Bank. If you would like to hear my full interview, please go back a few shows and find Episode # 114 and 117.

For anyone who are not familiar with the NY milk banks or milk banks in general,  a brief description is in order before we get into the show.  Mothers who have extra milk, pump and donate their milk to milk banks. Milk banks are a facility which collects, sorts and pasteurizes breastmilk from donors.  Once processed, the milk is then shipped to premature babies in need as well as full term babies.  The NY Milk Bank opened in 2016 and has been so successful that they have moved to a larger facility which has enabled them to triple their efforts.  With the help of milk banks and the kindness of donors, more babies are able to benefit from human milk, which provides the best nutrition for babies and protects against numerous life-threatening infections.

Why can’t mom herself provide milk for her baby?  The reasons for this vary, however, the shock of giving birth early takes a physical and emotional toll on a mom. There is amazing work going on in the pregnant body to prepare for lactation and perhaps this work had just begun. Thanks to modern medicine, babies who are born at 21 and 22 and 24 and 26 weeks are surviving.  However, they need lots of medical care and spend their time in the NICU and mom is separated from her baby for long periods of time so her breasts lack the stimulation from her baby.  While she works on building her supply to meet her babies needs, donated milk will protect her baby and provide the nutrients they so desperately need to protect them against numerous life-threatening infections.

I will first introduce Julie to you and she will then talk about how quickly the milk bank has grown.  She also shared just how many ounces of human milk has been donated since they have been open.  Take a guess?  A thousand?  10, thous.  50, thousand, more?  Stick around to find out the answer.  I also thought it would be really cool to hear from a mom who gave birth at 27 weeks, whose baby is now a recipient of the kindness of milk donors.  Her story is quite heartwarming and will really bring home the benefits of donated breastmilk.  Sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

Julie talks about the Human Milk Analyzer and how they are accepting donations for this $40,000 piece of equipment that they  would like to purchase and are so excited to put into use.  I am amazed at just how many thousands of ounces of milk that has been donated to the milk bank so far.  Julie talked about the average donor who tends to be a mom who is already pumping and has quite a bit of excess milk and does not know what to do with it all, so she donates her milk.

Human Milk is life giving and when NICU babies receive human milk, it means they are healthier, gain weight quicker and will typically have a shorter NICU stay.  The benefits and  power of human milk goes far beyond what science has learned up to this point.  In the next segment, you will hear LaDale talking about her personal experience with the NY Milk Bank.  She talks beyond all the scientific research and tells us what it really means for her baby to be drinking breastmilk that has lovingly been donated by other moms. You will hear her  talk about her encounter with one of the doctors who helped her baby in the NICU when she was so tiny and how she is on a mission to share the milk bank information with her physician so he can encourage more families to use donated milk for their babies.

We heard from LaDale whose beautiful baby girl Raegan has been the recipient of donor milk.  She tells us of her very very difficult pregnancy that resulted in a 30 pound weight loss for her and a birth that happened at 27 weeks gestation.  She was on an emotional roller coaster from day one, never knowing from day to day if her daughter would survive.  Raegan was 2 pounds 7 oz at birth and was a little over 4 pounds when she was discharged a few months later.  She began receiving donor milk at 4 1/2 months old and her health has dramatically improved.  Raegan will be getting donor milk for a full year.  We are grateful to LaDale and her willingness to share her story with the world so others may learn of the benefits of human milk.

I hope you enjoyed hearing about the milk bank.and the good work they do.  I was teary eyed listening to LaDales story and humbled by how appreciative she is to be able to feed her baby donated breastmilk from other moms who lovingly take the time to pump for other babies. As the rates of premature babies rise, the needs become greater. The March of Dimes, is a US nonprofit organization  that works to improve the the health of mothers and babies to prevent birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Their latest statistics show that  over 15 million babies are born to soon each year and they say these numbers are rising every year.  The scientific research shows that donor milk is the next best option after mothers own milk.  Babies have less infections, less disease, gain better, and all of this translates into a shorter hospital stay so the babies can be home with their parents sooner.    I am glad to bring you this show to highlight the needs of premature and sick babies. If you are in a position to do so, mark your calendars for tomorrow at donate to the Milk Bank.

Links:

The New York Milk Bank
https://www.nymilkbank.org/

March of Dimes
https://www.marchofdimes.org/

All About Breastfeeding Online Audio Class
http://www.aabreastfeeding.com/audioclass