Celebration Will Honor 50,000 Ounces of Local Breast Milk Donations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 13, 2017
Contact
Abby Graham, Breastfeeding Peer Counselor
(217) 531‐4322, agraham@c‐uphd.org
Celebration Will Honor 50,000 Ounces of Local Breast Milk Donations
Champaign, IL – On Friday, August 4th the Champaign‐Urbana Public Health District’s (CUPHD’s) breast milk depot will celebrate reaching a goal of 50,000 ounces (440 gallons) of milk donations. Breast milk donations are stored and then sent to the Milk Bank in Indianapolis for medically fragile babies. The celebration will be held outside on the CUPHD lawn from noon to 1:00 p.m.
CUPHD opened its breast milk depot in June 2014. Depots are designated drop‐off locations that store and ship breast milk to milk banks, where it is processed and distributed to premature babies across the US. Prematurity is the leading cause of death for newborns, and breast milk decreases the chances that these infants will develop serious illnesses. Some mothers of premature babies cannot produce breast milk, and therefore many hospitalized babies have a need for donated milk.
The CUPHD milk depot celebration will wrap up World Breastfeeding Week by honoring the local moms that have donated their milk, along with providing fun activities, raffle prizes, and food.
“We are so thankful to the generous moms who have donated breast milk to our depot,” Abby Graham, CUPHD Certified Lactation Counselor, said. “They are providing a life‐saving resource for fragile infants.”
The breast milk depot is housed in CUPHD’s Maternal and Child Health division, which promotes breastfeeding as the healthiest nutrition for all babies. The division’s staff includes eight Certified Lactation Counselors (CLCs) and one International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), who serve Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Family Case Management mothers. CUPHD also provides breast pumps to mothers in these programs.
For more information: www.c‐uphd.org/breast‐milk‐donation.html To become a breast milk donor: www.themilkbank.org
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