Mila’s Keeper Partners with Mothers’ Milk to Increase Breastmilk Donations
LONG BEACH, CA (August 30, 2023) – Mila’s Keeper, inventor of the revolutionary breast milk storage solution empowering women around the world, and Mothers’ Milk, a non-profit organization that collects, pasteurizes, and delivers human milk donations to hospitals across multiple states, have partnered to launch the first annual Pumpapalooza, a month-long awareness campaign and breastmilk donation drive to benefit Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and other babies in need.
Gentle on preemie babies’ systems but packed with the nutrients they need to thrive, breastmilk has been proven to nourish infants, protect them from serious illness, and even save their lives. However, 40% of NICU babies in Level 2, 3, or 4 units don’t have access to human breastmilk. And NICU babies aren’t the only ones in need of nutritious breastmilk!
Donated breastmilk is also a necessity for babies with failing immune systems and those whose mothers are facing health risks or illness preventing breastfeeding, babies who have lost a mother or have been adopted or fostered, or who are simply failing to thrive on formula.
Breastmilk banks like Mothers’ Milk help fill this gap. Donor education is a key driver in boosting supply at these banks, including helping potential donors understand the importance of accessibility to human breastmilk as well as highlighting how easy it is to donate. Virtual breastmilk donation drives like Pumpapalooza are one way milk banks increase donor awareness, understanding, and, ultimately, donations. Coinciding with National Breastfeeding Month, Pumpalooza is a month-long partnership aimed at increasing awareness around the importance of human breastmilk and driving breastmilk donations not just in August but year round. We encourage breastfeeding and pumping moms with a surplus supply to “pump it forward for all babies” and for other moms and caregivers to
spread the word.
To celebrate, Mila’s Keeper will select one Mothers’ Milk donor at random each week in August to receive a Milk Keeper Gift Set
Says Lara Vu, Mila’s Keeper CBO (Chief Breast Officer) and former UNICEF worker, “In addition to helping moms thrive during their breastfeeding journeys, Mila’s Keeper is committed to ensuring that ALL babies in need can benefit from the miracle of breast milk. We are thrilled to be working with Mothers’ Milk, as they can ensure the quality, safety, and speedy delivery of breastmilk donations. Our Pumpapalooza partnership is designed to highlight the importance and drive donations of breastmilk to Mothers’ Milk.”
“Mothers are givers by nature, but some moms may be intimidated by the process of donating to a milk bank. Mothers’ Milk makes the process easy. We pay all screening and blood test costs and offer free overnight shipping from any location in the US. And every drop counts – in fact, just one ounce of breastmilk can provide up to three meals for the most premature babies,” says Angelica Rojas, Community Manager and Marketing Director of Mothers’ Milk.
Mothers interested in donating their excess breastmilk can get started by filling out a quick questionnaire. Potential donors will be contacted with information regarding a free health screening as well information about the breastmilk packing and shipping processes (also free). Find more information about Pumpapalooza on this Facebook page. Information about Mila’s Keeper and Mothers’ Milk can be found on their websites. To donate breast milk or learn more, please sign up here. To see our recent visit, see us on Instagram.
About Mila’s Keeper:
Driven by founder, Lara Vu’s, experiences as a UN public health expert working with
breastfeeding moms around the world, Mila’s Keeper aims to empower moms with the freedom and confidence to pump anywhere. The company’s insulated, eco-friendly breast milk coolers safely store and cool breast milk for up to 20 hours, enabling women to pump and save milk at work, when traveling, and when participating in activities away from home. A minimum of 5% of profits are donated to female empowerment and environmental non-profits, including 1% for The Planet. Mila’s Keeper is a woman- and minority-owned small business based in Long Beach, CA. Learn more at www.milaskeeper.com and @milaskeeper.
About Mothers’ Milk:
The oldest operating non-profit milk bank in the United States, Mothers’ Milk Bank of San Jose helps babies thrive by collecting, pasteurizing, and distributing human milk donations to hospitals and outpatient across multiple states in the U.S. Mothers’ Milk works with mothers who want to donate extra breast milk to medically vulnerable infants and parents in need of mothers’ milk. The organization currently supplies more than 80% of California’s NICUs and other states.
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