Equity & Inclusion
Welcome to our community.
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We consider milk donors, donor milk recipients, their families, healthcare providers and institutions, volunteers, and YOU to be part of our community. We all agree that every infant deserves access to human milk for the very best start to life.
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We are dedicated to serving all infants and families within our community whatever their race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, sexual orientation or identity, age, education, religion, disability or socioeconomic status.
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The events of 2020 spotlighted existing disparities in maternal healthcare, particularly for people of color. Statistics show that birthing people in BIPOC communities face higher mortality rates and have less access to breast/chestfeeding education than their white neighbors, in no small part due to the injurious history of injustice and poor healthcare outcomes for people of color. Prematurity puts infants at risk for experiencing poor health outcomes. While premature birth can strike anyone, babies born to BIPOC families are 40% more likely to be born too early. We prioritize fragile infants, providing a safe source of human milk when their mother’s own milk may not be 100% available.
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Lactation and human milk feeding are the cornerstone of human milk banking. This begins with the support, protection, and promotion of breast/chestfeeding. Working as an allied health partner in maternal-child health we have long seen the disparities in opportunities and outcomes along racial lines.
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Our board and staff are committed to actively examine the inequities that exist within the field of human milk banking. Click on the icons below to learn more about the steps we have taken, and continue to take.
Educate
Educating ourselves
about racism.
Examine
Examining systems that play a role in perpetuating inequity.
Identify
Identifying barriers to breastfeeding and human donor milk access.
Strengthen
Strengthening our community relationships.
Advocate
Advocating for all babies' right to human milk.
Most importantly, we will work more effectively and collaboratively to ensure that donor milk is reaching the babies in our community that need it the most.
This work is urgent, and we will always be learning.
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We will make mistakes and own our responsibility for corrective action.
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Our efforts will be tireless, and we will not stop.
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Our journey is on-going.
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.