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Milkin' Mamas aid premature, ill babies By Cindy Carcamo
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT) It all started with the 300 ounces of breast milk stashed next to the Trader Joe's berry medley and instant pasta in the freezer. Now it's the latest business venture for Alice Toth and her 35-year-old identical twin sister, Keri Pommerenk. The inseparable duo that has done almost everything together - even pregnancy - launched a breast milk bank depot, called Milkin' Mamas Breast Milk Bank, this summer. The business links nursing mothers who want to donate their excess breast milk to mothers with premature or ill babies. Their pregnancies landed them in the perfect condition to give what many others can't: breast milk. "We've always called it liquid gold," they said. The idea was sparked after Toth found herself with gallons of "dairy- and wheat-tainted breast milk" she could no longer give to her baby, Shad, who had became sensitive to dairy and wheat. Toth had pumped a reserve stock of milk, "just in case" something happened to her. Now, she was stuck with gallons of milk she could no longer give to her baby boy. Just the thought of throwing away all that milk made Toth uncomfortable, she said. She wanted to give it to others who needed it. After searching for a milk bank, Toth found South Coast Milk Bank in Irvine, Calif., which accepts breast-milk donations and acts as a middleman for a Monrovia, Calif.-based milk bank, called Prolacta Bioscience. And that's when the sisters - who already own Wellsprings Wellness Center in Seal Beach, Calif. - decided to launch a middleman depot of their own. So far, they've invested about $10,000 into the new business. They bought the infrastructure to set up the shop, communications system and brochures and Milkin' Mamas logos - which are emblazoned on the back of their vehicles. "Everybody told us we were insane," Toth said. "Well ... when we opened Wellsprings, everyone thought we were crazy. No one thought we could make it happen, and look. Here we are 10 years later." The depot is run out of a room the size of a walk-in closet in the back of their day spa. The twins act as liaisons for eligible nursing mothers who want to donate their milk to feed premature or ill babies in hospital neonatal units. Some of these babies have mothers who are unable to nurse or require fortified human milk, the twins said. Studies have indicated that breast milk is superior to formula or dairy milk because it carries antibodies and offers protection from infections. Long-term studies indicate that breast-fed babies also have lower rates of illnesses, such as diabetes or allergies and asthma. That's one of the reasons the twins timed their pregnancies so they could give birth only about three months apart. "We wanted to be able to breastfeed each other's kids," Toth said. This way one of the twins could work while the other nursed and cared for both boys. The twins realize that some may see the "ick factor" in breast-milk sharing, but the practice is an ancient tradition, Toth said. Milkin' Mamas became affiliated with Prolacta Bioscience, a human milk processing company, which pays the duo a $2 commission for each ounce of donated milk they receive. The company's scientists make human milk fortifier out of pure human milk concentrate. They also sell some standard human milk. Hospitals can purchase the company's standard human milk at $30 an ounce or the human milk fortifier for about $100 a day. Prolacta has been met with skepticism from the traditionally nonprofit donor-milk market. Some lactation consultants have said Prolacta raises ethical questions about companies making money off breast milk. The higher price for Prolacta's milk is justified, said the company's CEO Scott Elster, because they do intensive research to specifically formulate the milk for premature babies. Toth said the for-profit model doesn't bother her, comparing the milk bank to pharmaceutical companies who make a profit from life-saving drugs. "Nobody thinks anything about spending $45 on using an antibiotic," Toth said. "It's not something Keri and I are doing to make tons of money on." Instead, the twins said they started the business to help mothers and their babies. "My child could have been one of these babies," Toth said about Shad, born five weeks early. "And maybe my milk will help one of those babies."
Not everyone can give, however. More than half of the women who have tried to donate to Milkin' Mamas haven't qualified, the twins said. Applicants undergo an extensive screening process, which includes a strict lifestyle and medical questionnaire. For example, women who have traveled abroad in certain years or those on various medications can't give, Toth said. One of the reasons for such restrictions is that Prolacta scientists concentrate the milk. About 10 ounces of human milk is concentrated into one ounce, company officials said. That's why it's important the milk be as pure as possible, Toth said. So far, the business has four approved donors and a few more in the application process. One of those who qualified was Alyssa Gordon. She donated 120 ounces of her breast milk to Milkin' Mamas. Gordon's daughter, Hannah Grace Gordon, was born 3 ½ months prematurely on Independence Day. Gordon pumped milk every four hours. She nearly filled 4-ounce bottles each time. That milk would go to nourish Hannah once she recovered, Gordon thought. "I was a preemie and I survived. I was hopeful," Gordon said. "I thought she would make it." But the baby girl with the paper-thin skin and 1-pound-8-ounce frame didn't make it. She died of complications 10 days after birth. She didn't even get the chance to open her eyes, her mother said. "She never got to use the milk but we were planning that she would," Gordon said, glancing at one of the multiple pictures of Hannah that decorate her living room walls. As soon as Gordon and her husband decided to let Hannah go, she began to search for someone who would take the milk that now took up about a third of her freezer. "I didn't want it to go to waste," said Gordon, who also continued to pump milk. "The fact that I had the body of someone who had given birth but no child was difficult," she said. Still, the donation became part of the healing process. "Even though her life was so short, it was still important," Gordon said. "I want to find some goodness out of this." She contacted Milkin' Mamas in July and became their first donor. Gordon said she was happy to see the milk taken away. "It was part of moving on," she said. Then she paused and laughed. "And it creates a lot more space in my freezer." The twins said they are hoping more nursing mothers will consider donating their extra breast milk. "The hardest part is letting people know the opportunity exists," said Pommerenk. Before stumbling across the Irvine breast-milk depot, the twins didn't know they could donate their milk to help sick babies. They credit their idea to becoming a mother. "When you become a mother, your heart grows," Toth said. Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
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Mitch Albom | |||||||||||||||||||
