— PUBLIC STATEMENT —

Letter to the new California Surgeon General

November 17, 2022

Dr. Ramos,

Congratulations on your new role as Surgeon General for the State of California! Our organization, Human Milk Connection, is very impressed with your resume and are particularly grateful for your background as an OB/GYN. We are hoping you will take the time to peruse our website: humanmilkconnection.org. We are a 501(c)3 organization collaborating with Mothers’ Milk Bank in San Jose California, the California Breastfeeding Coalition, and other perinatal groups throughout the state.  

We believe providing human milk to all infants should be a top health priority in the State of California. Overall good health has been attributed to the development of a strong gut microbiome. NICU infants cannot survive without the availability of human milk; a plethora of research clearly delineates the health advantages of supplementing with Pasteurized Donor Human Milk (PDHM) over formula. Per CA Health Code- Section #123367, all California Hospitals are expected to have model policies based on Baby Friendly Guidelines by January 1, 2025.

We know these benefits matter for all infants and yet, there are often times when parents cannot provide human milk to their babies. As an OB/GYN, you have probably had more than your fair share of conversations with mothers who had difficulty developing a supply despite heavy effort or with life circumstances (work, stress) that interfered with their efforts. Adoptive parents who are at the mercy of their surrogate or birth mother for breast milk also have difficulty with access to human milk for their infants. And just as there are socioeconomic and racial divides in healthcare, these divides also exist with human milk access. PDHM can be expensive, and not all insurance covers the cost, all but precluding access for most families.  

Every Baby.  Every Drop.  Every chance. We cannot think of a better way to start the health process of every infant in this state. Our foundation was established to increase the likelihood that children could get a better start at health. Our goal is pure; to provide California families access to PDHM to meet the nutritional needs of their children regardless of familial background, circumstances, or socio-economic status. Human Milk Connection will provide grants directly to providers, such as the Mothers’ Milk Bank of San Jose by raising funds through individual and corporate donors. Both Human Milk Connection and Mothers’ Milk Bank have adopted the same sliding scale based on family income.

We are dedicated to improving the health of infants in California and need your active support in helping more babies have the choice to access PDHM if needed. 

You can help by doing the following:

• Endorse public health initiatives promoting the benefits of supplementing with Pasteurized Donor Human Milk (PDHM) instead of formula when needed.
• Assist in the acquisition of State funding for organizations promoting the use of PDHM.
• Expand Medical-Cal coverage of PDHM, and increase awareness of coverage availability.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Janel Silva, BA, IBCLC
Director / Co-Founder

Debbie Albert, BSN, PhD, IBCLC
Board member / Co-Founder

Julia Gabhart, MD, FAAP, IBCLC
Secretary

Diana White, PhD, LMFT, LPCC
Treasurer

Don Button
Communications / Marketing