The bacteria contamination detected last February at the Abbot Corporation, one of the four major formula producers in the country, forced the plant to shut down. This had a massive impact on the supply chain that directly affected the parents dependent on formula to feed their babies. 

Still, the current formula shortage America is going through is just the tip of the iceberg. The issue revealed significant failures in our healthcare system, like defective parental leave politics and the Government's null assistance in setting families for success the moment a baby is born.

To give us a deeper look at these issues is Heather Cabral, Managing Director of Communications at Faith in Action, the nation's largest faith-based grassroots organizing nonprofit in the US. She is also the creator of Mama Milk Bank, a space where parents in need of human milk can connect with and get information from milk donors and milk banks. 

Our conversation revolves around Heather's hereditary drive to fight for what is right, the importance of donating milk, the lack of time, space, and accommodations for mothers to pump milk at work, and how flawed is our healthcare system in this regard. We also delve into the impact these failures in the healthcare system have on Black and Brown women, the costs of donating milk, and Heather's project Pump-A-Thon, a 30-day campaign encouraging women to "pump and donate" breast milk. 

Some Questions I Ask:

• After what happened with the Abbot Corporation in February, tell us how this evolved for you (9:13)
• Could you talk a bit about the process of creating Mama Milk Bank? (24:49)
• What is the cost to moms reaching out to those banks? (40:43)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Heather shares a bit about her background and her fighting for what's right heritage (2:55)
• A bit of background on the formula shortage (6:13)
• About the lack of accommodation and time for mothers to pump and store their milk at work (14:31)
• Parental leave: the root of the problem that formula shortage highlighted (16:26)
• A band-aid on a bullet wound. The Mama Milk Bank project and its temporary solutions (30:19)
• The impact of corporate greed on Black and Brown mothers (35:27)
• Heather provides details about Pump-A-Thon (42:17)

Resources:

• Mama Milk Bank Linktree

Connect with Heather:

• Twitter

Let's connect!

• Website
• Instagram

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