BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – To kick off National Breastfeeding Month, Med Center Health has partnered with nonprofit organization The Milk Bank to launch their website, Breast Milk Express.
The Indiana-based nonprofit is looking for locations across the United States where it can accept screened breast milk donations, pasteurize them and send them to mothers in need.
“Essentially, even today, mothers could still call the company or go online to purchase safe, pumped breast milk from their program, and they would then package it and send it to the mother’s home,” said Calista Adams, a lactation consultant at Med Center. “But now with the Express site, we’re a little closer so mothers can come to the hospital to pick up the milk instead of having to wait for Indiana to send it to their home.”
Lactation consultant and registered nurse Stacy Mosier said Med Center Health used to be a milk depot, receiving milk from donors to ship in boxes to Indiana. As an express location, they can now receive bottles of pasteurized milk from Indiana for mothers to pick up there.
“It has a sort of number, an expiration date, so we keep track of everything to keep the milk very safe,” Adams said. “It’s sealed and needs to be kept frozen until use.”
The bottles have a capacity of 120 ml, with babies usually drinking about six to seven bottles a day.
Adams said breast milk is important for sensitive babies, such as those who are prone to infections or who cannot digest milk or formula.
This express location can now help mothers in the area who are having problems producing breast milk.
Adams said those who cannot provide milk can still support mothers.
“We have some moms out there who just really enjoy supporting other moms, you know, cheering on other moms; it takes a village,” she said. “If they don’t have kids themselves but have sisters or family members who are struggling with breastfeeding, they can just kind of be a cheerleader and support and spread the word.”
For more information about The Milk Bank, visit their website.
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