Bestmilk’s mission states that they are ‘committed to parents struggling with breastfeeding, delivering pure 100% breast milk for [their] baby’. They have a team full of researchers, scientists, microbiologists and paediatricians, but who exactly are they, and what, exactly, do they do?
And can they help you?
BestMilk is a UK private milk bank who help parents, that are struggling with breastfeeding and meeting the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF recommendations on feeding babies natural breast milk at least up to six months old.
Over years of research the team have developed an advanced screening method that not only eliminates harmful pathogens from breast milk but critically, preserves its nutritional and immunological properties which are vital for optimising a baby's immune system development.
Operating in line with NHS NICE Clinical Guidelines 93, they collect, screen and supply pure, human breast milk from third party wet nurses to the parents in need of a helping hand. Ideal for those who either struggle with breast feeding, cannot breast feed, or choose not to breast feed, Best Milk is for parents who wish to feed their child in full, or in part, on breast milk.
This isn’t an entirely new concept. Wet nurses have almost always been around throughout history. In modern times, formula milk has replaced the role of the wet nurse, who was traditionally a member of the community and another mother who was breastfeeding at the time. She would step in and breastfeed a child whose mother was unable to breastfeed.
Bestmilk has modified this concept for the modern day, offering mothers and their babies the highest quality breast milk, without having to go through the trouble of finding a wet-nurse. The brand provides all the necessary screening and serological testing to the highest standards, incorporating NHS NICE Clinical Guidelines.
Bestmilk milk bank uses rigorous quality control and screening process to ensure that the immunologically vital breast milk available to your baby is pure and safe. All the mums who share their excess breast milk via BestMilk have been personally selected through interviews and health assessment procedures. Bestmilk know each and every mum they work with as before donating, each of our mums is interviewed on her lifestyle and guided through the donating process. They have strict procedures on expressing, storing and donating the breast milk that they accept and this is done for the benefit and safety of your child.
Founder, Dr. Julia Sarno describes how the idea came to her when she had her son and could not breastfeed. She was desperate to find safe breast milk for her child and felt like it was her fault that her son could not receive the much-needed breast milk.
‘Around that time my friend, Barbara, telephoned me and cried on the phone because her daughter has developed various food allergies. Barbara took the blame on herself for not being able to breastfeed when her daughter was a baby. That was the crucial moment when I started thinking about how to resolve the pressing issue of scarcity of breast milk in our society. I started reading various forums for mums and discovered that my friend and I are not alone, there are many of us with the same problem.
‘Shortly after, I left academia to devote my life to this cause. I wanted a service that would support parents struggling with breastfeeding, by delivering to them safe breast milk for their baby by clicking a few buttons on the computer. I believed it should be as simple and easy for them as ordering pizza from Deliveroo. After all, if we can order food online for adults in the 21st century, why can’t we order natural food for our babies in the same easy and convenient way?
‘It appeared easy in theory, but it took years of work committed to the cause by the team of scientists, doctors, paediatricians and microbiologists, to develop the system we have now created.
Today we are proud to say we have put our heart into a service that we hope will make your parenthood easier and your baby healthier.’
Is this a service you would try, or be interested to hear more about? Check out their website here, to learn more.
