Ask the Lactation Consultant

Q. What is a Human Milk Bank and do we have one in Portland?

A. No, we do not currently have one in Portland, but there is a group working hard to get one here! Human Milk banks screen, collect, store, and distribute human milk for babies whose mothers' own milk is not available, for a variety of reasons.

Why do we need a milk bank in Portland?

Here are several important reasons:

• There are infants in the Northwest who need donor milk.
  One in eight infants are born prematurely each year in the US. These are the most vulnerable infants whose mothers may not be able to provide enough human milk for them due to medical problems. In addition, there are many other infants and individuals that need donor milk due to a variety of other medical conditions.
  
  
• We have lots of human milk here!
  In Oregon 89% of mothers breastfeed at birth and the state has already surpassed national goals set for 2010. Oregon and Washington have the highest breastfeeding rates in the US. In the Northwest, we have human milk to share.

• We need more donor milk banks in the US.
  Periodically, the demand for donor milk exceeds the supply. Milk banks work together to meet the need when one runs low. But in times of shortage, they have to prioritize who receives the available donor milk, and it goes to the sickest, most vulnerable infants first. In the last seven years, milk banks in North America have grown in number, from 6 to 11, and in distribution volume, from 400,000 ounces to 1,166,336 ounces of milk. This is a 185% increase in distribution! But the need for donor milk continues to grow. As more is known about the benefits of providing donor milk when mother’s own milk is not available, it becomes more imperative to make this valuable renewable resource available to all who need it.

• It’s the “Green” thing to do.
  The two closest milk banks are in Denver, CO and San Jose, CA. Right now hospitals or families in our region that use donor milk have it shipped from one of these two milk banks. And any mother in our region who qualifies as a milk donor has to have her milk shipped. If there are infants who need donor milk here, and we have milk donors here, why not reduce all the time, energy, and costs related to shipping the milk back and forth. Keep it local.

So why a milk bank in the Northwest? It just makes sense.

You can help make our dream a reality!
Help sick infants and others with medical needs.

Make a donation!

$200 – buys education and outreach materials to spread the word about the milk bank and the benefits of breastmilk

$100 – supports board development and training including a planning retreat

$50 – buys postage and supplies for educational and outreach materials

$25 – buys conference calling for regional milk bank planning meetings.

Include the Northwest Mothers Milk Bank in your end-of-the-year giving by donating on our website www.nwmmb.org

Volunteer on a planning committee!
Do you have a talent for education or a desire to fundraise? Or do you want to help build donor milk depots? We’d love to have you join our effort.

Become a milk donor!
Share your precious milk now by donating to an existing milk bank. Visit our website for more information.

Join the Medical Advisory Board!
We’re looking for additional medical providers to participate on our Medical Advisory Board.

Search with GoodSearch!
A simple web search can help fund NWMMB. Visit www.goodsearch.com anytime you do a web search and select NWMMB. It’s that easy!