Mothers' Milk Bank Austin

Art by Lake Buckley for Dr. Jane Morton of  www.firstdroplets.com Congratulations on your pregnancy! As you get closer to your baby’s due date, you may start to plan for the postpartum period. One of the biggest topics on your mind is likely infant feeding, specifically the benefits of breastfeeding. You can and should begin to prepare to breastfeed even before your baby arrives! Here are a few breastfeeding tips to get you started 1) One of the best ways to prepare to breastfeed is learning as much as you can about breastfeeding There are so many books and websites that provide evidence-based info on breastfeeding. Anecdotal evidence from blogs and other parents have their place as well – they can help new parents feel normal in their breastfeeding journey. Following some breastfeeding-centered accounts on social media is also a great way to learn more about what to expect! Some of our favorites are @normalizebreastfeedingofficial , @pumpspotting , @firstdroplets a

Did you know that the people who greet donors at our depots are volunteers for Mothers' Milk Bank at Austin ? They volunteer during their normal work hours and assist with logging milk that is dropped off, storing the milk properly, packing the milk into boxes or coolers, and shipping it back to us or coordinating pickups with our courier. They do a lot to make the donation process work smoothly for MMBA and also for our wonderful donors. We're thankful for all of our depots and the hard work of our volunteers in supporting our mission of saves babies' lives by providing prescribed donor human milk! Donor Mom Brittany and her baby Remington are happy to share their milk with Mothers' Milk Bank at Austin. Brittany shares how her friend Andrea at our San Antonio Food Bank depot helped make the donation process easy.

Donor Mom Janie recently shared her donation story with the Milk Bank. She learned about our mission from a friend who was donating and felt inspired to donate if it was in her future. Read on for more.

Photo by Aneta Hayne Photography Before we get into a topic that I am very passionate about, let me introduce myself. My name is Naya Weber and I’m mother to two little boys who were both breastfed beyond infancy. It was my own struggles that motivated me to pursue a career in lactation. I’m an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) - my job is to support families experiencing postpartum breastfeeding challenges. In addition to working with families, I am the social media manager for Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin. I’m grateful to have found my way to MMBA, an organization that does so much good and uses their platform to promote good health from an early age. Normalize breastfeeding - it has been a term all over the internet for the last several years. Moms posting breastfeeding selfies (#brelfies) on social media to a variety of reactions - from praise to the more critical, “why is she posting that ??!” I think the real question we need to ask ourselves is:

The Mothers' Milk Bank at Austin's mission is to save lives by providing prescribed, pasteurized donor human milk. Supporting breastfeeding is an important component of this mission, and in recognition of the need for education, MMBA commits to teaching more than 75 students annually. Some of these students are already physicians, dietitians, lactation consultants and nurses, some are studying to become health care providers, and some, as in this past week's group, are young students yet to choose a career path. We trust that learning about the power of breastfeeding and human milk to improve health and survival, and the role of the milk bank industry in supporting those outcomes especially among the babies born too soon, too small, and too sick, is life changing. Minimally, knowing that human milk saves babies' lives should lead to a greater appreciation and advocacy effort for breastfeeding. MMBA believes that creating an informed community benefits everyone. In Feb

Baby Zayed was born at 35 weeks gestation weighing only 3.12 pounds, with a cleft lip and palate and a cardiac defect. He spent 13 months in several hospitals, but multiple surgeries later he is sweet, smart, and loves his big brother Yazid. Even after surgery eating was difficult for Zayed, and he has many food allergies, so donor human milk and his mom’s expressed breastmilk continued to be his only source of nutrition for over 18 months. Zayed’s mom calls him her miracle baby! The Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin provides thousands of children just like Zayed with donor human milk, given compassionately by healthy lactating mothers who express milk beyond their own needs and donate it to help babies born too small, too soon, and too sick. This past year more than 1,100 mamas chose to donate milk, and more than 775,000 ounces of milk were dispensed to babies. Generous community members gave more than $225,000 to support our mission to save lives through the provision of p