I just came across The Lactivist Breastfeeding Blog today, and I'll be returning. On the front page right now are commentary on a study of home birth safety, criticism of the Britney birth statue, the c-section stuff I covered Saturday, and other breastfeeding and birth topics. Plus, you can buy a shirt reading "these breasts save lives," and profits from the sale will be donated to the Mother's Milk Bank of Ohio (please note that I did not verify this). Check it out.
Some of you are thinking, "What, exactly, is a milk bank?" The simple answer is that it's like a blood bank, but with breastmilk, like the modern version of a wet nurse. According to the Human Milk Banking Association of America, "In North America, the interest in donor milk banks is also growing. Many families, aware of some of the problems associated with artificial feeding products, are requesting donor milk, particularly when they have an ill or premature infant and maternal milk is insufficient or unavailable." According to this directory, however, there are not yet very many banks in the U.S. There are, apparently, milk banks which accept donations from out of state if you're interested. Banked milk can help women who, for example, don't have sufficient milk supply (such as in a premature birth or multiple births), who are on medications that prevent breastfeeding (such as chemotherapy), or have an infection such as HIV that can be passed through breastmilk.
Now I'm thirsty. More tomorrow.
Resources:
Becoming a Donor to a Human Milk Bank - La Leche League
Human Milk Banks - National Women's Health Information Center
Banking on Breast Milk - breastfeeding.com
Technorati Tags: Breastfeeding; milk banks
MeSH Tags: Milk, Human; Milk Banks
No comments:
Post a Comment