I think it also puts into context why so many mothers in the USA are 
desperate to donate to Haiti.  They pump all their working lives, and 
spend their day moving and shifting packages of milk, and swapping 
details on which carrier carries it cheapest and can they get the 
company to pay for the shipping, or another a ticket for the baby and a 
carer to come to the conference too.  Epic amounts of time of which bags 
are the cheapest and best, and which bottle teats to try and how much 
the caregiver should be giving.. and how awful it is when someone wastes 
their precious milk from spillage etc.  A package of breastmilk is both 
hours of work, and their love expressed tangibly to their babies whilst 
they themselves are absent.  Most pump with a photo of their baby beside 
them.

It's part of the everyday fabric of their lives.  So they see it as 
normal, and do-able, and desirable to extend to those in need.

They want to give some mother's love to others, as they see those hours 
and costs to make the packages of milk, as their expressed love for 
their child, against all odds.

Morgan Gallagher

Rachel Myr wrote:
> Does this mean that the crew members' own breastfed children are accompanying them on this mission, or is it as I fear, that their children are far away, being fed stored breastmilk at best, by whoever is left *holding the baby*?   
>
> I can't quite put into words why this disturbs me, without belittling the generosity of these crew members, and I sincerely want to honor their gift.  Having lived somewhere for the last quarter century with long paid maternity leave and breastfeeding breaks with no age limit on the child, both guaranteed in national legislation, it's jarring to think that there are so many lactating women on active duty in another Western country.  I think their willingness to help may tell us something about the pain they feel if they have had to leave babies of their own.  And I hope I would do the same, in a similar situation.
>
> One thing this news item does illustrate is that it is never far to a source of fresh breastmilk, no farther than the nearest group of women - or the nearest visiting celebrity ambassador like Salma Hayek.  Really puts the lie to the need for massive amounts of formula, or - heaven forbid - 30,000 feeding bottles from an oh-so-'green' company. 
>
> Rachel Myr
> Kristiansand, Norway
>
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