Milk delivery: The service helping working mums

The responsibilities of a new parent are immense. Feeding a little one, especially when transitioning back from maternity leave, can be a real challenge for mums.

Assisting with this are an increasing number of companies across Australia and the globe offering breast milk delivery. Businesses are offering freeze-dried breastmilk that is converted into a powder, a convenient way to keep on top of responsibilities.

This product allows for easy transport and shelf lives of up to three years, assisting new mums who may be struggling to juggle life.

Mothers Milk Bank is an Aussie charity making these ideas a reality. According to its website, the initiative began “for the purpose of collecting, screening, pasteurising and distributing donated human milk to infants in need right across Australia”.

Mothers can receive and donate to the cause through the website. Mothers Milk Bank’s mission strategy is described as: “To support the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF’s Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, along with the Australian government’s Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy: 2019 and beyond, which state that:

“Infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months [of] life to achieve optimal growth, development and health. Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond.”

One organisation that has established itself as a provider in Australia is Nourishy. Founder Cass Wingrove commented: “As a breastfeeding mum myself, I know how hard it can be to store and transport pumped breast milk – especially when travelling or leaving your baby in someone else’s care.”

According to Nourishy, some of the key facts helping to make services like these a reality are:

• Frozen breastmilk can be stored for up to 12 months, but it is recommended to be used within six months. Freeze-dried powder has a shelf life of three years from the date it is freeze-dried.
• Freeze-dried milk powder weighs a tenth of the milk it was created from, making it much lighter and easier to transport, especially when travelling.
• Each bag of frozen milk is processed individually inside a specially designed freeze-drying pouch.

The government is working towards improving the state of breastfeeding through the Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy: 2019 and beyond. According to the report, the 10 action areas of the plan are:

1. Monitoring and surveillance.
2. Health professionals’ education and training.
3. Dietary guidelines and growth charts.
4. Breastfeeding-friendly environments (including workplaces and childcare settings).
5. Support for breastfeeding in health care settings / the Baby Friendly Health Initiative (BFHI).
6. Australia’s response to the World Health Organisation (WHO) International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and related World Health Assembly resolutions.
7. Exploring the evidence, quality assurance, cost-effectiveness and regulatory issues associated with the establishment and operation of milk banks.
8. Breastfeeding support for priority groups.
9. Continuity of care, referral pathways and support networks.
10. Education and awareness, including antenatal education.