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<\/a>While formula isn\u2019t terrible for babies, it\u2019s very expensive and less nutritious than breast milk is. So what happens when a mother can\u2019t produce enough breast milk and can\u2019t afford formula?<\/p>\n
\u201cBreast milk is such a whole food for infants,\u201d says Oscroft. \u201cIt contains all of the vital nutrients that an infant needs, the different kinds of fats, the antibodies; it even helps to populate an infant\u2019s gut biome. And something that has been growing in popularity over the past, maybe, decade is to donate breast milk. Some people make lots of it\u2014like, incredible amounts\u2014so much that they can\u2019t even use it all. And some people can\u2019t make it at all. There are so many different reasons for using a milk bank, and they have them all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mothers in need can get breast milk for free from these banks. There are difficulties, however\u2014while supply can be a problem, Samara says that the biggest issue facing milk banks is funding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s less about having enough to fill the demand and a little bit more about having the ability to store it,\u201d says Oscroft. \u201cSo, being able to pasteurize and store the donated milk, being able to supply breast pumps to new moms, all of that stuff is so much more expensive than a lot of us would ever think.\u201d<\/p>\n Entrance to the screening\u2014which is also being presented by The Holding Space Education Series and the Camosun College African Awareness Committee\u2014is by donation, and baked goods will be available for purchase at the event. All the proceeds will go to the Human Milk Bank at Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do really want this to be super accessible, so if someone can\u2019t afford to pay, then it\u2019s more important for them to access the information than it is for them to make a donation,\u201d says Oscroft. \u201cWe are hoping for about $5 [per donation], and also hoping that we\u2019ll get some people who are able to pay a little bit more, but, like I say, it\u2019s more about sharing the information than it is about gathering cash.\u201d<\/p>\n