How it all began…
The Bay Area Breast Milk Cooperative was founded in the spring of 2010 in response to frequent requests from local mothers for breast milk on the Bay Area Home Birth Collective’s List Serve. Both nursing mothers, we found ourselves connecting local mothers to each other for milk exchanges. Some women were literally blocks from each other and yet were only able to connect through the efforts of our fledgling cooperative.
Local milk banks charge high prices for breast milk, and most insurance companies don’t cover the cost. This leaves most families unable to purchase breast milk for their babies, even when there is a medical reason that the babies aren’t able to get breast milk from their own mothers.
We believe in the power of breast milk. We believe that every baby deserves the opportunity to start life on the best food available, especially when it IS available, for free, from local mothers.
The donations are directly between mothers. Although we provide information on screening donors, it is the recipient’s responsibility to ask health questions to screen their potential donors. We can also provide information on breast feeding, pasteurizing at home, emotional support from mothers who’ve been unable to or struggled with nursing, links to local professionals and articles about the safety of donor breast milk.
If you have comments, feedback or any questions at all, please feel free to contact us! We’d love to hear from you!
warmly,
Beth Rago & Ajira Darch-Sharp
