Having been advised of my MBE award away back in November 08 it seemed an age before the summons arrived to attend Buckingham Palace to receive it on 28th May.
With the date finally set my husband agreed to attend to all the logistics around travel, accommodation and rounding up our two sons but asked to be excluded from all things couture. This turned out to be an excellent arrangement with the Coulter family reporting to the palace gates at the very precisely required time. It initially felt like leaving the country with passports etc being checked but once inside the gates you begin to sense what it must be like for the Royal family as hundreds of pairs of tourist eyes follow your progress across the forecourt.
The investiture ceremony is conducted like a military operation – unsurprising I suppose since most of the organisation is overseen by military personnel. With each recipient of an award permitted 3 guests and 80 recipients on the day we were quite a crowd in the waiting area and I thought it was rather nice that all sorts of different awards, both civilian and military, were included together. Dr Bernard Ribeiro, President of the Royal College of Surgeons received a knighthood.
The butterflies start when the call comes to ascend a grand staircase flanked by soldiers standing rigidly to attention at the bottom of each flight. It is at this point that recipients and guests are separated with recipients being briefed on protocol etc. Having entered the palace after 10.00 o’clock the ceremony begins promptly at 11.00 am with Prince Charles (in my case) arriving to take his place on the platform at the front of the seated guests. There is lots of pomp and ceremony with a military band playing music and honour guards and a myriad of military ushers etc.
My turn finally arrived to proceed forward to Prince Charles with my name being called out over the public address system. The curtsy was easy but when I arrived in front of him I realised that my hat had defeated the military organisation as he struggled to see my face beneath. I am always asked about the content of the ensuing short conversation and must admit to being taken totally aback when Prince Charles immediately opened with, “I hear you have opened a Human Milk Bank in Chester”. I doubt if I would have recovered if he had followed that up with, “Have you managed to get cover for the night shift?” but the conversation stayed firmly on milk banking as he struggled to get a word in edgeways but he did finally manage to say, “Amazing”. He may have thought he was well informed on Milk Banking but he is more so now.
The whole day was a surreal experience with everything going like clockwork as soon as one enters the palace and with the sun thankfully shining throughout it was wonderful to mingle with everyone in the inner courtyard of the palace and enjoy the moment. It seems an eternity since I first broached the idea of opening a Human Milk Bank and awards couldn’t have been further from my mind and I could have filled the palace with all the people who have contributed to the Milk Bank’s success. It was an occasion I will always treasure for the rest of my life
The European Milk Banking Association (EMBA) is delighted to host this Centenary Anniversary
Conference in Vienna, home to the world’s first established human milk bank. This will be an opportunity to learn from the accumulated wisdom of a century of milk banking and to identify current problems. We will also be considering how
best to utilise this knowledge to ensure optimum safety and accountability as the future of milk banking unfolds.
Topics include:
• A century of milk banking
• Is donor breastmilk baby friendly?
• Achieving Optimum Nutrition for preterm infants
• Analysing breastmilk in practice
• Uses of Donor breastmilk – what next?
• Making a world of difference – a look at milk banking around the globe
Further details available soon or contact info@stillberatung-minden.de:
Milk Bank Manager Ann McCrea was recently featured in the Guiding Magazine. Ann who has been responsible for running the milk bank since it opened over 8 years ago is an Assistant Guide Leader in her spare time. In the article she explains how fellow Guide Leaders have volunteered as donors to the milk bank as well given help with collecting and delivering donor milk. The Guides are always looking for volunteers themselves – you can find out more by visiting their website www.girlguiding.org.uk. To view the article here.
26th September 2009 at the Parkhotel Schönbrunn, Vienna, Austria
The European Milk Bank Association (EMBA) is delighted to host this centenary Anniversary Symposium in Vienna, home to the world’s first established human milk bank. There are currently 15 member countries represented in EMBA. This symposium will be an opportunity for all delegates to learn from the accumulated wisdom of a century of milk banking and to identify current problems. In addition international experts will also be considering how best to utilise this knowledge to ensure optimum safety and accountability as the future of milk banking unfolds.
For more details and to register, visit www.stillen.de and click on EMBA Symposium 2009. The information is available in German and English
The 2009 ALCA conference is for lactation consultants, health professionals, educators, counsellors and policy makers. It will provide participants with up-to-date information on practice and policy, and an opportunity to network and to contribute to the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding.
Click here for more information.
Human milk banking has been widely reported in the media recently, partly as a result of the Channel Four programme “Other Peoples Breast Milk”. UKAMB feels it is important to emphasise that all Breastmilk issued by UK milk banks is from donors who are rigorously screened and the milk is tested and pasteurised to ensure safety.
Donor Breastmilk from UK milk banks is available in response to requests from clinicians and is almost exclusively used to feed sick and premature babies in hospital. Donors are not paid for their milk and UKAMB recognises their altruism and dedication in providing milk banks with this precious resource.
Liz O’Neill, donor to the Cheshire and North Wales Milk Bank in Chester has kindly given permission for UKAMB to publish the following letter, written in response to the programme ‘Other People’s Breast Milk’.
Liz O'Neill's letter
UKAMB is reliant on membership for most of its income and recently Trustees have been looking at ways to increase its sources of financial support. A special £10 per year membership fee (reduced from £25 per year) for Professional members (ie midwives, neonatal nurses, lactation consultants, neonatologists etc) was agreed at the AGM in November. However despite a concerted effort to gain new members at the BFI conference in Glasgow, only 2 new people joined.
In an attempt to attract financial support from the wider public, UKAMB has signed up to the Justgiving scheme. This enables individual supporters to raise money on behalf of the charity by attracting sponsorship for a particular event or simply by sending a donation. If the donor is a UK tax payer, the fees for the scheme are deducted from the tax that charities can claim back ie that has already been paid by the donor to the Inland Revenue.
UKAMB urges all supporters to encourage family and friends to help us raise the funds that are needed. Our support for milk banks is dependent upon more income being generated. Please go to www.justgiving.com/ukamb to help UKAMB continue to ensure that Every Drop Counts.
Ricky Tomlinson recently unveiled a plaque in recognition of his very generous £200,000 donation to the Cheshire and North Wales Human Milk Bank Appeal. Ricky has also agreed to be the appeal patron for 2008. Thanks to help like Ricky’s, the Cheshire and North Wales Human Milk Bank is one of the leading milk banks in the UK. Ricky said: “Due to my own recent experiences with my health I know how much hospitals and appeals appreciate help and assistance. This is such an important service which can help so many families and I’m very honoured to be the patron for 2008.”
He was then presented with gifts from children and parents who have been helped by the Trust’s Milk Bank in the last few years before visiting the Neo-natal Unit to meet the parents of new born babies who are currently benefiting from donor breastmilk provided through the milk bank’s wonderful service.
After posing for pictures and talking to staff on the Neo-natal Unit, Ricky was shown the Milk Bank and learned about the milk banking process. He reacted by saying “It’s absolutely fantastic the way everything works, it really is.”
Lynda Coulter, Manager of Cheshire and North Wales Human Milk Bank said, “We are delighted that Ricky agreed to be our patron for 2008. His generosity has already secured the service for the foreseeable future and we are delighted to have this opportunity to thank him publicly. Over 1,000 people have supported the appeal over the years, and I only wish we had room to invite them all to this occasion.”
Ricky’s support for breastfeeding globally has been previously demonstrated when he turned down a lucrative contract with Nestle in protest over their promotional activities surrounding the sale and marketing of artificial baby milk in the developing world.
To find out more about the Chester and North Wales Milk Bank go to chestermilkbank.org.uk
UKAMB celebrated its tenth anniversary by holding a two day international conference at Chester Racecourse in September 07. We were delighted to welcome over 180 delegates and speakers from more than twenty countries. The response from participants was overwhelmingly positive with particular praise being given for the range and quality of the presentations.
The special conference dinner, also held at the Racecourse, was a great success with excellent food and live entertainment from Nicole and Will Latham. They performed the song 'Wonderful' which is dedicated to breastmilk donors everywhere and is the soundtrack to the new milk banking video.
The Managers of the two Milk Banks in the North West have worked together and developed guidelines for Neonatal Units to access and use Pasteurised Donor Breast Milk. Wirral Mothers Milk Bank and the Cheshire and North Wales Milk Banks provide Donor Milk to hospital trusts across Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Wales and locations further afield if requested. Cheshire and Mersey Neonatal Network has welcomed the new document and supported its launch at a recent best practice day in Warrington. Gillian Weaver, Chair of UKAMB spoke at the meeting about the need for Milk Bank services in the UK to become regional, liaising with other Neonatal Networks to improve access to Donor Milk for all Neonatal Units.
She congratulated Lynda Coulter and Annie Atkinson on their initiative in promoting milk banking in the North West. Lynda and Annie can be contacted by emailing Lynda.coulter@coch.nhs.uk or Anne.Atkinson@whnt.nhs.uk
Pictured are Gillian Weaver, centre, Annie Atkinson, right, and Lynda Coulter, left, with the newly launched document.
UKAMB representatives were among those who gathered on Wirral recently to welcome the newest addition to the milk banking family - the Wirral Mothers’ Milk Bank (WMMB).
Sue Balmer (past President of UKAMB) and Carolyn Westcott (Vice-chair UKAMB ) joined colleagues from Huddersfield and Chester Milk Banks for the celebration.
The Wirral Milk Bank is the culmination of over a year’s enthusiastic fundraising by local people, especially the families of babies who had been cared for in the Neonatal Unit.
Olympic cycling Gold medallist Chris Boardman performed the opening ceremony, assisted by his wife Sally and Sonny, the youngest of their children. A firm believer in preventative medicine, Chris and family were coming full circle: they launched the fundraising campaign for the Milk Bank at the end of 2002.
Based on the Clatterbridge site of Wirral Hospital NHS Trust, the WMMB will supply donor breastmilk to the Trust’s Neonatal Unit, which cares for around 360 babies every year.
The £80,000 unit, with office and clean room is the culmination of years of planning by Annie Atkinson, the Neonatal Feeding advisor at the trust. Together with her colleague Gill Brady, she is now recruiting donors from the many enquiries already received from local mothers.
Annie and her team would like to thank other UK Milk Banks (particularly Northern Ireland, Birmingham and Huddersfield) for their support. She added, “As well as supplying donor EBM to the Wirral over recent years, we have gained knowledge of their experience, which has helped us anticipate some of the challenges of setting up a new Milk Bank. Thanks also to Gillian Weaver and Sue Balmer of UKAMB for their support and encouragement.
“We are delighted to be the 16th Milk Bank in the UK !”
The opening also provided an opportunity for a reunion with cousins Geraldine and Nina Staniford and their babies. Nina was already one of the first WMMB donors when Geraldine gave birth prematurely to her own son Callum, who benefited from donor milk for a few days until Geraldine could feed him herself. The cousins are still amused by the idea that the donor milk given to Callum could have been Nina’s!
To contact the Wirral Mothers’ Milk Bank, ring 0151 334 4000 ext. 5000 (24 hour voicemail) or e-mail Annie Atkinson anne.atkinson@whnt.nhs.uk.
[L to R] Gill Brady, Annie Atkinson, Chris Boardman with his son Sonny, Sally Boardman.
