Wednesday, March 30, 2011

My Boobs in the News

Last Thursday, Lindsey Seavert, a reporter from WCCO news and Dave, a photographer/ cameraman, came to our house to interview me and my family about breastmilk sharing. I had spoken to Lindsey weeks before on the phone as she had been trying to get approval for the story. Tonight, it aired on the 10pm news. Maybe the Star Tribune story paved the way?

I thought the story was well done, even though the news anchors oddly referred to breastmilk sharing as a "Black Market" and they ended with the usual FDA fear factors. The true heart of the story was Christa Johnson, a breastfeeding mother who read about my need for milk on the "Human Milk 4 Human Babies" Facebook page and felt compelled to help. Tears filled my eyes when Christa said she felt "honored" to help me feed Olivia. I am so grateful to Christa and the other breastfeeding mothers who share this precious gift...

Personally, I found it amusing that Lindsey interviewed a Lactation Specialist at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis- since I work at Children's, Olivia was cared for in the NICU and the Special Care Nursery there and it was from the NICU at Children's (where her premature daughter was being cared for) that Christa contacted me about sharing her breastmilk.

Everyone agrees that breastmilk is the best nutrition for babies, especially premature babies. This is reinforced time and time again, but little is said about the mothers who are unable to breastfeed themselves. A short news segment cannot possibly go into all the issues involved. Remember, the Denver Milk Bank cut off our supply of milk without a warning. The mothers donating milk to milk banks- out of the goodness of their hearts- may not realize that after "processing" their milk is sold for $3-5.00 per ounce and few parents can afford it. The "processing" itself destroys some of the unique qualities of breastmilk.... Human beings are the only species that routinely consumes the breastmilk of another species... I could go on and on... :)

If you missed it, the story can be viewed on the WCCO website: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/03/29/minn-moms-using-facebook-to-share-breast-milk/

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