Hello Naomi,
Thank you so much for your reply to my email.  You provided me with a very clear picture of the efforts that the donor milk system has made during the formula crisis in the US. In re-reading my post, I hope it didn’t come off harsh, and if so, my apologies.  You can sense my frustration with the formula industry and the USA’s lack of attention/ support for breastfeeding, not the role of the donor milk banks.  It’s maddening to me that our culture, regarding infant feeding,  has changed so much that we don’t see the solutions that would have prevented the crisis in the first place:  support breastfeeding!!! 

Thanks again,
Amy Wagner
Hershey PA

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 30, 2022, at 10:07 AM, Naomi Bar-Yam <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>  Good morning Amy and Lactnetters,
>  I will leave it to someone else who has more full information than I do to answer your question about FDA approval of formulas. To your second question,
> milk banks *are* offering support in this area:
> 
> 1. We are receiving more calls from mothers wanting to donate milk, screening them, and accepting their donations.
> 2. We are making milk available as is possible to babies outpatient babies who need it because of the shortage.
> 3. We are responding to media queries about our work and educating the community at large about breastfeeding, appropriate use of donor milk and safe use of formula.
> 
> Having said that, you are correct, there are several limits to our ability to scale up production at the level needed to account for the shortage:
> 1. Human milk is an unusual raw material, we source it one by one from generous mothers who donate it, they must pass a rigorous health screen, and how much milk each donor will have to send us is a moving target, and varies widely. 
> 
> 2. Our processes and protocols are designed for fragile babies, most often preterm babies. We are not designed to support term babies consuming about 25 ounces (~750 ml) of milk per day of milk. We simply do not have the supply or the capacity to provide milk at those quantities on large scale, to thousands of babies in need. the Michigan factory that was closed will take 6-8 weeks to be able to produce formula at the same capacity as before the recall, and they have the equipment, processed and ready access to the raw materials (well, larger supply chain problems may make that access less ready than they expect, still, access to their raw materials is very different than access to human milk.)
> 
> 3. The formula industry in the US and across the globe is very large. It is hard to imagine how much formula is in circulation and is used. We are all aware of the complex business, marketing, cultural reasons for this. Changing our culture to truly support breastfeeding will not happen quickly, if at all. There are too many forces mitigating against it. 
> 
> 4. As has been pointed out in other poses, changes in breastfeeding practices and donor milk will not solve the formula problem we face now, though they do have a significant role to play. As breastfeeding and donor milk advocates, we are all working hard to use this opportunity to raise awareness and educate about the problems we face with infant feeding. 
> 
> Thanks for raising the question, hoping this is helpful,
> 
> Naomi
> 
>> 
>> 
>> 2.  Why aren’t donor milk banks seizing the opportunity to aide support?  The trend for mothers to have a huge “stash” of milk, way beyond what their baby could ever use, seems like an ideal resource to tap.  Are milk banks limited in their ability to scale-up production?  
> 
> ---------------------------------------
> Naomi Bar-Yam, Ph.D.
> Director Emerita 
> Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast
> Main: 617-527-6263
> Direct: 617-340-3600
> [log in to unmask]
> 
>  
> 
> ------------------------------------------
> 
> The information contained in this email message and any attachments may be privileged and/or confidential.  It is for intended addressee(s) only.  If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, disclosure, reproduction, distribution or other use of this communication is strictly prohibited.  If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply and delete the message without saving, copying or disclosing it.  Thank you.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome