Bronson Mothers’ Milk Bank has opened two new locations to meet the growing need for breast milk in the West Michigan community.
The new depots for mothers wishing to donate extra breast milk for babies in need are in Battle Creek and Portage.
Mothers will have to go through a screen process before donating, which includes some blood work.
Once approved, donors have three options to get their milk to Bronson Mothers’ Milk Bank— ship it directly, drop it off at the milk bank or take it to a milk depot location.
The milk will get tested, pasteurized, bottled up and sent to families throughout the state.
Bronson says these donations can go a long way, especially for preterm babies in the NICU who are not able to latch. Experts say for them, breast milk is the best form of medicine.
“I think it takes a village. We talk about that all the time and, you know, a lot of our donors have used donor milk. If your baby’s sick, if your baby’s in the NICU, you use donor milk and a lot of them feel so passionate about having that available to their family that they want to give back when they can,” Bronson Mothers’ Milk Bank Supervisor Lindsay Starks said.
Bronson Mothers’ Milk Bank covers all the fees for bloodwork, along with shipping costs.
