LLL USA Partners with Best for Babes® Foundation for 2016 Miracle Milk® Stroll

MMS 2015 Patrick County VA 2Cathy Heinz, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Imagine your baby is born with health problems. As a parent, you are scared. You have to put your fragile little baby’s life in the hands of a skilled medical team and trust that the team can help your baby. What if there is a treatment available that will improve your baby’s odds of leaving the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) healthy? This treatment is proven to be safe and effective; however, the information is withheld because the treatment is either unavailable at the hospital where your child is at or the staff is more worried about offending than informing. This is happening in too many NICU’s in the United States. That lifesaving treatment is human milk. While many mothers are able to provide enough milk for all of their baby’s needs, mothers of premature or very ill infants often struggle with milk supply in the beginning due to stress, lack of support, or their own health concerns. Yet 60 percent of NICUs in the United States do not have donor milk available for these fragile infants, and insurance companies often do not cover the cost of donor milk, which can exceed five dollars per ounce.

Why is human milk so important? 

We all know breastfeeding provides a host of medical benefits. As a population, breastfed babies are less likely to suffer from childhood cancers, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiac disease. These benefits continue for the child’s entire life. For many babies, receiving human milk from day one may make the difference between life and death. Necrotizing enterocolitis is the second leading cause of death in premature babies and the tenth leading cause of death in babies born full term. Necrotizing enterocolitis, also known as NEC, is a painful bowel disease that often leads to surgery. The rate of NEC infection in NICUs is 12 percent. Only half of those infected will survive.

MMS 2015 Patrick County VAThat is why LLL USA wants the public to be aware of the importance of providing support for mothers breastfeeding their children, donating excess milk for needy babies, and making donor milk available for families who are unable to provide enough of their own breast milk for their children.

In order to increase awareness for this important issue, LLL USA is again partnering with Best for Babes® Foundation for the Miracle Milk® Stroll. This is the third year for the event and the second year that LLL USA has been a partner.

The Miracle Milk® Stroll is an event to bring awareness of the lifesaving powers of human milk. The most fragile babies are those born premature. The March of Dimes reports the rate of premature birth in the United States at 9.6 percent of all live births for 2015. This rate also disproportionately affects minority and low income populations who often lack support for breastfeeding.

Families Impacted by the use of donor milk

Baby Iya was born ten weeks early at only 2 lbs., 12 oz. Her mother, Ashley, struggled to produce enough milk in the beginning, but Iya was in a hospital that provided donor milk. This donated milk helped bridge the gap until Ashley was able to increase her supply adequately to meet Iya’s needs. Iya left the NICU six weeks earlier than expected and is now thriving.

Jenna relied on donor milk for her daughter Athena when her supply was not enough to meet Athena’s needs. When Athena was almost three years old, she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Jenna credits breastfeeding and donor milk as two big reasons why Athena survived and thrived in spite of her diagnosis.

Elizabeth City NC - 2“I know a lot of people boast about how healthy breastfed children are, and I think the best example of this is that Athena survived severe diabetic ketoacidosis at nearly three years old. Athena’s condition was so far gone that other children in the same medical state have died. I believe the immunities she received from me and other mothers saved her life. I could never repay their donations.”

Join LLL USA May 13-15 at Miracle Milk® Strolls near you. Please visit www.miraclemilk.org for locations and registration.