METRO ATLANTA MOTHERS MILK ALLIANCE 06/02/2023:
The recent national shortage of infant formula has highlighted many unmet needs for Georgia families. Lack of access to resources such as healthcare and safe feeding options have been pushed to the forefront. Ready Set Push along with community IBCLC’s and other community organizations have come together to provide a safer milk sharing option. In the spirit of service, compassion, and collaboration, we announce the Metro Atlanta Mother's Milk Alliance, or "MAMMA". We acknowledge the undeniable and unmet need for access to safe donor human milk for families in our communities with babies who are not hospitalized, as well as the altruistic and generous will of those with excess milk to donate. We further acknowledge the need for a framework to provide safety and protection for all involved in these exchanges. For these reasons, we are offering our collective resources of facilities, staff, expertise, and experience to form a model of donor human milk sharing that is accessible for families of all circumstances. Our model is constructed upon the 4 pillars of safe milk sharing: informed choice, donor screening, safe handling, home pasteurization. Our formal structure solidly fixes these safety pillars into practice, protecting families and providing a platform for safe milk sharing in a non-monetized environment. The four pillars have protected milk sharing families for two generations. In addition to non-monetization and home pasteurization, our milk alliance formalizes and provides a stable platform for the other two pillars and makes it sustainable and accessible to all. Our milk alliance does not pay donors for their milk, nor does it charge recipient families for the milk they receive. Our milk alliance is different from a milk bank in that it seeks to serve the needs of community families whose babies are not hospitalized; however, it is similar in its priority placed on safety and ethics. Milk donors in a milk alliance model undergo very similar screening and serological testing protocols used by milk banks, although it is important to point out that this is not a milk bank. Milk donated is traced by an anonymized donor number. The primary difference is in the processing of donated milk. In a milk bank, donated milk is pasteurized onsite by milk bank personnel. In a milk alliance model, recipient families are charged with pasteurization of the milk they receive at home. Shifting this work from the facility to the recipient families offsets the operational costs significantly. This allows the milk alliance to provide safe, and accessible donated human milk at no cost. In addition to increasing equitable access to donor human milk, the Metro Atlanta Mothers’ Milk Alliance has a strong focus on education for all families. Recipient families are educated on optimizing breastfeeding, when possible, and on the safe processes for pasteurization, handling, storing and feeding of human milk. Milk donors are supported on their journey to ensure their health and safety. Those interested in helping out are encouraged to send a cover letter and resume to [email protected].
Walker, S., & Armstrong, M. (2012). The four pillars of safe breast milks sharing. Midwifery Today with International Midwife, (101) 34-7
Walker, S., & Armstrong, M. (2012). The four pillars of safe breast milks sharing. Midwifery Today with International Midwife, (101) 34-7