Alicia Silverstone Starts Breast Milk Donation Program
Through her blog The Kind Life, actress Alicia Silverstone started a breastfeeding donation programme inspired by a mother she knew who cannot breastfeed her son because of a breast reduction surgery in the past.
Alicia wrote, "She'd tried to do everything so that her baby would have the healthiest, happiest start in life, she nourished herself during pregnancy with clean, kind foods ... but because of a breast reduction surgery, she found she wouldn't be able to make enough milk for him, no matter how much precious boobie time they spent time together. She tried reaching out in her community for donor milk, but it was almost impossible to figure out what kind of lifestyle choices the donors had made..."
Alicia thenpointed out that this was not an isolated case for that mother as "a lot of women unfortunately have a similar struggle, and there's no reason why they shouldn't be able to give their babies the most amazing start in life with clean, mean, glorious breast milk ..."
"And because we are a community of beautiful souls who recognize the importance of food as health, I say we help support those mamas and babies who need a hand during one of the most important times in their lives."
Alicia welcomes all mothers to her Kind Mama Milk Share programme through her blog site. She said that this is a venue for mothers to donate breast milk with each other.
She said encourage every mother saying, "If you have milk to share, post it here. If you are in need of milk, post it here. Think of all the babies we can help raise together! It goes without saying that common sense precautions should be taken."
The programme is exclusive only to those mothers following a vegan diet.
The mother who inspired Alicia to launch the program is vegan mom Rachel Holtzman who was interviewed by Good Morning America.
In the interview, Ms Holtzman explained that she was coming from a medical standpoint that she reached out to her friend Alicia to help her with breastfeeding her new-born son.
She said that after Alicia article in her blog, donations kept coming.
According to her, women have been incredibly generous, and she is hoping that with their help, she would be able to supply her son with all the needed nutrients.
However, according to Good Morning America, although Alicia's intention was noble, medical experts warned that those donating mothers should be screened for diseases before making the donation.
According to Dr Joanne Stone of the Mount Sinai Medical Center, breast milk is really best for babies, but "unscreened breast milk has a lot of concerns like transmission of certain viruses like HIV, Hepatitis and bacteria such as Syphilis."
Alicia was not available for her comment at the time of the interview, but Ms Holtzman said that for those who need breast milk donations, it is important to consider the lifestyle of the mother donating the milk.
Ms Holtzaman said, "Instead of asking probing personal questions", the mother can ask casually about the donating mother's everyday lifestyle, like what she eats or how does she keep her body healthy.
This is not the first time that breast milk donation was put in the spotlight.
In 2011, a report on ABC News featured the Web site onlythebreast.com where mothers can sell their breast milk online. A supply that can cover a baby's need for breast milk in a month could cost $300 to $1,200.
The report showed the perspective of a mother who were giving their milk to those babies in need.
A mother who sold breast milk said that pumping her milk and sending the milk through courier "definitely did seem weird to me but I knew I was helping a family in need. Their child wasn't responding well to formula, was having a lot of tummy aches and spit-ups. So I figured I was able to hel[ this child with breast milk because their mother wasn't able to, then I might as well help them out."