Breastfeeding Truth

If you've read Your Right To Nurse In Public or keep up with informative Breastfeeding and the Law posts like this one on the Sustainable Mothering blog, you will have noticed the glaring absence of any federal laws to protect breastfeeding (except in federal buildings).  Breastfeeding moms have to scrounge around state-by-state to figure out whether or not they will be protected when they need to nurse in public or pump at work. 

Ideally, breastfeeding will be protected as a civil right, and those who attempt to deny mothers this right or discriminate against them will be subject to legal action.  These kinds of strong state laws are a rarity, as discussed in this older but thoughtful discussion of Lactation and the Law from Mothering Magazine. At the minimum, basic federal legislation protecting breastfeeding moms, such as that proposed in the Health Care Reform Bill, would be passed. 

How can moms help? Here's one easy but helpful way...

Part 4: Milk Money

Will informing donors about the manufacture of costly therapeutics from their milk mean paying them as well?
This question is hard to answer. First, because I have no idea whether Prolacta has far more milk than they need or just enough to squeak by. Of course, if the donor milk supply is exceedingly high, there will never be any need to pay donors.

How much milk?
So, how much breast milk does Prolacta currently have in its possession? For that matter, how much total milk is collected in the US every year? What percent of that milk is processed and sold back to hospitals at cost by non-profits and what percent goes to the development and manufacture of Prolacta products? If anyone out there has access to these numbers, I'd love to know them.  I can only find the odd report here and there - nothing comprehensive.

One number I can find is on the IBMP website, which says they've collected 262,682 oz. of milk for Africa. If the milk split described on their How It Works / Donation Process page holds true (25% to Africa and 75% to "critically ill babies in the US," aka Prolacta), than that particular bank has provided Prolacta with 788,046 oz (=6,156 gallons =22,305 L) of breast milk. Add to that 100% of the milk collected at all the other Prolacta milk Banks, and that could be a lot. Or maybe it's barely enough?

How will donors feel?
The next question is - how will donors feel about giving milk to a for-profit enterprise that is also a life-saving one? This is hard to predict...

Part 2: The Prolacta Milk Bank Story Recap

Breastfeeding moms planning to donate milk to Prolacta (including those who donate to the National Milk Bank, Milkbanking.net  and 75% from those who donate to the IBMP) generally only read that their milk goes to "critically ill babies in the US" or to "severely premature babies."  On most of these sites (Milkin' Mamas being a notable exception) , no mention is made that the milk is processed into a specific line of products (HMFs) and sold by a very specific company (Prolacta) and provided to "critically ill babies" whose parents are lucky enough to be able to afford and have access to Prolacta's HMF products.

This is not a new story - Prolacta was in the news a lot when they began collecting milk in 2006 and in 2007 after the fact they collect 75% of the milk donated to the International Breast Milk Project (IBMP) came under scrutiny.

… here's how I knock out my nemesis,
GI Jane style.

By Jen Humberson, MD

I am writing this as a mother of two boys whom I nursed for one year each. I’m also a pediatrician, but I’m writing this as a mom. Some of my thoughts below might not be ones I’d share gracefully in the office.

So in two years of nursing I probably had clogged ducts 15 times. I have no idea if this is average, but I certainly know friends who’ve had 5 or so. I got to where I could tell when one was starting and begin my routine ASAP to keep it from getting worse. One thing I DID know from my medical experience: clogged ducts can lead to mastitis, and I do not ever want to have mastitis. I’ve seen lots of people in lots of pain, but none of it compares to the women I’ve seen with untreated mastitis.

How do you know if you have a clogged duct?