Madera County Breastfeeding Coalition will hold a breast milk collection Thursday.
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When it comes to a baby's well-being, human milk is highly encouraged by health experts.
However, sometimes, a mother isn't able to breastfeed.
"The next best thing is donor milk, and they go through a whole process," said Sylvia Stratford, with Madera County Public Health Department. "It's pasteurized. It's very safe, very few components are lost. The biggest and most important micronutrients and macronutrients are preserved through pasteurization."
Madera County hopes to raise awareness of breastmilk's benefits and increase access across the Valley.
The county's Breastfeeding Coalition is asking moms to donate fresh or frozen milk during its Milk Collection event. It then goes to Mother's Milk Bank in San Jose, which serves families and hospitals in the Central Valley.
"Babies in the NICU, outpatient families who have babies in critical need -- they also receive donor human milk throughout the Central Valley," explained community outreach and marketing manager Angelica Rojas. "Then we also service adopted, babies of surrogacy and also foster babies."
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Mother's Milk Bank and the coalition encourage those interested to donate to the bank even after the event ends on Thursday, as many families are in need.
"We want every family who has the need for donor milk that they know that they can ask for it, and it is a MediCal covered benefit now," Stratford said.
For more information on donating or receiving breast milk, visit the Mother's Milk Bank 'Donate Milk' webpage or 'Get Milk' webpage.
The Milk Collection event is happening on Thursday from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm at Madera County Department of Public Health at 1604 Sunrise Avenue, Madera.
If you have questions, call Sally Tran at 559-538-3948 or email her at trans@unitedhealthcanters.org.
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