It’s nearly two year since we first met up with Gillian Weaver from Hearts Milk Bank* (HMB).  It could not have come at a better time!   As part of our Neonatal Breastfeeding Support Appeal, Esmari approached Gillian, to see how The Alexa Trust and HMB could work together, with the aim of improving breastfeeding support for mums in neonatal.  Coincidentally at the same time HMB was actively searching for a location to set up a milk hub in Kent.  It was a no brainer, The Alexa Trust wanted to be part of it and agreed to fund the hub.

Eager to know more about what this incredible team of women do and how donor milk is processed and stored, Esmari was invited to the  HMB’s HQ in February 2018.  “I was received with a warm welcome and spent a memorable day with Dr. Natalie Shenker.”  As part of her role, “Natalie is passionate about establishing a wide range of ethically-funded research into the optimal uses of milk banking and how breastfeeding affects the health of both mothers and babies.”

Initially the William Harvey Hospital was earmarked, but after much delay, Darent Valley Hopsital in Dartford came up tops.

Without going into to much detail, here is a special message from Dr. Natalie Shenker.

It is almost 2 years since the first litre of donor milk went out from the
new Hearts Milk Bank, part of the Human Milk Foundation, to a neonatal
intensive care unit where it can help tiny preterm babies survive and
thrive. Since then, over 350 mothers have donated their extra milk. We have
collected over 2500 litres! After special heat treatment, the donated milk
has been sent to 30 neonatal units across London, the southeast, East Anglia
and Ireland. We have also sent milk and support to over 50 families where
breastfeeding is either impossible (such as the mum is being treated for
cancer) or where mum is trying to establish her own milk supply and needs
some extra time and support to get there. Babies receive donor milk as a
supplement, taking some of the stress out of the situation, and over 50% of
mothers go on to breastfeed their own babies.

The logistics of making sure milk arrives in good time to be processed at
the milk bank (and to make sure mums and NICUs have space in their
freezers!), as well as making sure each hospital can receive milk quickly
when needed can be a bit of a challenge. That is why we are so enormously
grateful to The Alexa Trust for their amazing donation, which will allow us
to create a donor milk hub in Kent. Milk storage freezers will be monitored
24 hours a day and allow the riders and drivers from SERV Kent* to drop off
donated milk, which will then be transported in bulk into the Hearts Milk
Bank. This will mean much shorter journeys for the riders, helping to reduce
emissions impact on their time! The freezers will also hold stocks of donor
milk for hospitals, cutting delivery times by more than three quarters. Over
time, donor milk will be available to families in the community where
breastfeeding is impossible or is taking time to establish.

This donation by The Alexa Trust will make an enormous difference to
families across Kent, and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts.

This is huge for Kent!  All neonatal units in Kent and other areas will benefit from the hub!  We are extremely proud and would like to  thank Gillian & Natalie for allowing us to be part of this project.  The Milk Hub is being set up as we speak and we will keep you all posted.

This is where you come in.  Last year 12 incredible swimmers joined two relay teams to swim the English Channel and in doing so raised funds for The Alexa Trust.  Together they managed to raise £7,708.61!

We can now proudly announce that £5,740 of this money are funding the new milk hub.  Thank you once again to one and all who donated and to all the swimmers for their fundraising efforts.  Without your support this would not have been possible!

With Love, Howard and Esmari James

*Hearts Milk Bank is part of The Human Milk Foundation, please follow link to read more about what they do:  https://humanmilkfoundation.org/

* To read more about SERV Kent, please follow this link:  https://www.servkent.co.uk/