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Maryland mom launches 'Pump-A-Thon' to encourage nursing families to donate milk

Heather Cabral of Laurel launched an Instagram and Facebook page to connect nursing mothers with resources to donate breast milk amid the baby formula shortage.

LAUREL, Md. — Even after the announcement that Abbott Nutrition resume production of its specialty formula Elecare at its factor in Michigan, families are still struggling with the nationwide infant formula shortage. 

Recognizing that relief is still weeks away for parents desperate to feed their children, one Maryland mom has launched a Pump-A-Thon to help ease that burden.

Heather Cabral of Laurel is a nursing mother to her 17-month-old infant daughter Brooklyn. She wrote on her Facebook page that she sees the formula shortage as an "enormous problem" with "so many layers."

"There are so many things wrong with the shortage, corporate greed, supply chain, lack of resources that set parents up for breastfeeding success if they're able, and let's be sure to talk about paid family leave, or lack of, that forces families to turn to formula to begin with," she wrote.

Credit: Heather Cabral/Mama Milk Bank
Heather Cabral is a nursing mom to her 17-month-old daughter Brooklyn and she has launched an effort to encourage women to donate breast milk amid the infant formula shortage.

As a way of encouraging breastfeeding women to pump and donate milk to local banks throughout the month of June, Cabral launched the brand Mama Milk Bank on Facebook and Instagram.

"I'm hoping to use [these] platform[s] to educate families around the possibility of utilizing human milk donors," she said in an interview with WUSA9, adding that she knows "human milk might not be a viable option for [all families]."

Mama Milk Bank provides nursing parents with a Human Milk Donation Guide to help them if they want to participate in the Pump-A-Thon.

The guide lists a 31accredited nonprofit milk banks associated with the Human Milking Bank of North America.

"Got Milk? is more than a statement today, it's a direct call to action," a Mama Milk Bank Facebook post says. 

"I'm learning a ton about stigma, cultural norms across communities, and how little information is out there on donor milk and human milk banks. If you know families impacted by the #formulashortage that are open to donated breastmilk, send them our way," Cabral wrote on her Facebook page. "If you're in the DMV, I have a few goodie bags left that includes 50 milk storage bags courtesy of Medela USA - I'm happy to get those to donors."

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