Northbrook Milk Depot is Up and Running!

Thank You!! We would like to say a very sincere thank you to each individual and organization that helped make our dream a reality.  New Mother New Baby is now a Milk Depot!  Not only did we meet our goal, we exceeded our goal.  In addition to funding the depot, we were able to give $1200 to the Mothers' Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes.  Special thanks to Whole Foods Market Northbrook for providing the delicious food and the beautiful cake for our event.
Why do we need a local Milk Bank?
Because every baby deserves a fighting chance at life!  When a baby is born severely premature, they face numerous challenges in the NICU before they can go home with their family.  One devastating medical condition that these babies might encounter is called Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC).  NEC is the death of intestinal tissue and babies who contract the disease often require expensive surgery.  Many of these babies do not survive.  Several studies have found that feeding these vulnerable infants human milk greatly reduces the occurrence of NEC, thereby saving hospitals thousands of dollars in newborn health care costs and increasing the survival rate of premature babies.In 2011 the U.S. Surgeon General wrote "Human milk is vital to the survival of vulnerable [newborns] and plays an important role in addressing the substantial burden imposed by NEC on affected families...." While many Moms of preemies work hard to pump milk for their babies, there are often times when they are not able to provide all that the baby needs.  Medical complications, premature birth, certain medications and even stress can all play a role in milk production.  That is why it is imperative that these families have access to human donor milk.    Milk donors are rigorously screened women with a surplus of breast milk.  The donated milk is collected at Milk Depots (like New Mother New Baby) and then sent to a Milk Bank for processing.  It is pasteurized, blended, and tested before being distributed to hospital NICUs for use on the tiniest babies.  "If Illinois and Wisconsin mothers supplied their own milk for half of their babies' feedings, we would still need 534,000 ounces of donor milk annually..." 
We need a local processing and distribution facility so that we can accommodate all of the babies and families throughout the region.  Right now, all of the milk collected at Illinois and Wisconsin depots is shipped to Indiana for processing.  

Our next goal is to help the Mothers' Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes raise enough money to open a processing facility right here in Illinois. 
Get Involved! There is still plenty of opportunity to help out with the Milk Bank!  You can donate time, money, goods or services directly to the Milk Bank .
Donate Milk The screening process takes a few weeks, but is relatively simple.  If you have milk to spare, there are plenty of babies in need!

Save the Date - Saturday September 6th, 2014
The 4th Annual Race to Save Tiny Lives
5K Run & 3K Walk
New Mother New Baby will be forming a team to join in the fun on this scenic trek through beautiful Long Grove.  Registration opens soon!