The Peds article conclusions (which press ignored) say that "Medical and public health organizations have been effective in promoting breastfeeding, resulting in an increase in breastfeeding initiation to 77% of live births. However, there are limited options when a mother does not have enough milk. Lactation difficulties may be addressed with lactation support so that children's needs may be met with mother's own milk. Unfortunately, not all women access or are referred for support early."

And therein is the problem. 

Moms come to us weeks after birth when they can't stand the pain anymore or baby is simply not growing well or........many other problems. 
I'm a LLLL. Moms can call me anytime. We are first line of defense. The LLLL knows when to call in more help. When an IBCLC or dr can help fix the situation. It is so sad that moms wait. They've been told and believe that BF will "hurt." I've been doing this for more years than you can imagine - 46 this November - and some things just don't change - moms with little information and support from their HCPs, moms who don't know who to call, moms who don't trust us unprofessionals (LLLL) when the professionals sure don't know what they are doing, HCP bias about unprofessionals (LLLL. IBCLCs with no RN) and so on.

Yes, I get frustrated and then I help a mom and things go great and I'm ready to keep up the struggle! Pat in SNJ, LLLL, RN, IBCLC, APN (that's the order I got the degrees :-) 

From Naomi
Today, the New York Times and Boston Globe reported on a study in Pediatrics about risks of informal milk sharing. The study compared samples of milk purchased from an online milk sharing site and raw milk samples from a milk bank. 
CONCLUSIONS of the study: Human milk purchased via the Internet exhibited high overall bacterial growth and frequent contamination with pathogenic bacteria, reflecting poor collection, storage, or shipping practices. Infants consuming this milk are at risk for negative outcomes, particularly if born preterm or are medically compromised.

MMBNE operates under the guidelines of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America, which requires that we take multiple steps to assure that our donor milk is safe for the babies we serve. All milk, for premature sick hospitalized babies and full term babies at home, is screened and processed using the same careful guidelines. 
If you have concerns, do not hesitate to contact us.

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