Whāngai Ora Milk Bank

In the crisp darkness before dawn on the morning of World Day of Human Milk Donation, a group of women witnessed a karakia by Terry Hapi of Rangitāne and were led down a humble corridor to a small kitchen beneath the empty Te Papaioea Birthing Centre. After a simple and powerful ceremony blessing the facility, and the gifting of a name to the equipment, they went upstairs for a chat and a cup of tea. This simplicity, intimacy, and practicality is indicative of the nature of the work these women do. Calmly, compassionately, and without fanfare, they have managed to establish the first Human Milk Bank in the North Island, and the first nonDHB Human Milk Bank in New Zealand. The work began after lockdown last year, with Jacqui Nutt, Lactation consultant and milk banking veteran. Her resume includes establishing milk banks in South Africa and witnessing the outcomes that the provision of safe, tested, pasteurised donor milk was providing for the smallest and sickest of babies in the neonatal units. Neonatal Necrotizing Enterocolitis, a condition that kills 30-50% of infants who contract it, has been found to occur 6-10 times more frequently in preterm neonates who were fed with formula than either mothers own milk or human donor milk. In addition, the World Health Organisation lists donor milk in its hierarchy of optimal feeding methods for all infants, and here in New Zealand there was so little formal access to it. In running the weekly Milk Cafe support group in Te Papaioea Birthing Centre, she was constantly hearing stories of families desperate to provide breastmilk for their children but having issues with supply, medication, or illness. The strong network of informal milk sharing via the Milksharing Manawatu Facebook page told her that there was a willingness for donation in the community, but nobody was taking it to the next step to collect, test and pasteurise the milk. With the smallest of pushes from two of her regular attendees, Jacqui quickly found herself with a steering committee of seven women, all with their own breastfeeding and milk sharing stories that made them passionate about the project. To support Jacqui’s experience with the technical aspects of breastmilk pasteurisation,

the others worked on creating policy documents, writing Trust deeds, arranging bank accounts and fundraisers, liaising with medical communities, finding donors and reaching out to potential recipients. The support for the project grew exponentially. Every person who was approached responded with generosity and excitement. Medlabs subsidised the blood tests which all milk donors must complete in order to ensure they are not passing pathogens in their milk to the