Juggling her time between a three-year-old and a seven- month-old is not easy but Jade Ribero still manages to find a quiet space during her day to give the gift only a mother can give to hungry orphans – breast milk.
Ribero, of Glenwood, is one of several Durban mothers who support the iThemba Lethu Breast Milk Bank that provides orphans and needy newborns at King Edward VIII hospital and the local iTthemba Lethu orphanage with what medical science has proven is the healthiest food for babies.
Ribero said: “I had heard about the work of the iThembalethu children’s home and one of my friends said they needed milk and that if we are keen we should get involved.
“It pulled at my heart and I felt God was prompting me to do it.
“Initially, it was quite daunting, but you just have to start. I tried a manual pump first but now a friend has lent me an electric pump. You just have to find the right time of day. The comforting thing is that I know Jonathan (her seven-month-old) will always have enough milk,” Ribero said.
“Kirsten (iThemba Lethu Breast Milk Bank manager Kirsten Coutsoudis) brought me a pack of sterilised bottles. All you have to do is express, stick it in a bottle and put it in the freezer. She comes with a cooler bag and collects it. The nice thing about it is there’s absolutely no pressure; when I have filled five bottles, I call her.
“I know iThemba Lethu is helping HIV-positive children in particular and I have heard how beneficial breast milk is for an HIV-positive baby. I think if everybody who is breast-feeding gave milk, it would help so much,” Ribero said.
Coutsoudis said the hospital struggled to get enough milk for its newborns as donor milk could be used only from HIV-negative mothers.
“Each mom probably gives us about two litres a month. Most give about 100ml a day. It’s hugely valuable for the pre-term babies because a preterm baby might only be taking about 100ml to 150ml aday.”
Coutsoudis said she often had calls from people wanting to buy the milk. “It’s not for sale. It’s for people who have a need and it’s for our babies in the home. We are very low on milk at the moment and it would be great to make an appeal for moms to donate.”
Prof Anna Coutsoudis, who works at the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, initiated the iThemba Lethu Breast Milk Bank in 2005, at first using donations from American mothers who wanted to help Aids orphans.
Research has found that babies in the developing world who were fed formula milk instead of breastmilk were six times more likely to die of diseases such as diarrhoea and pneumonia. - The Independent on Saturday
* http://www.ithembalethu.org.za/