Michigan program will allow incarcerated mothers to send breastmilk to infants
(CBS DETROIT) - Inmates at Michigan's Huron Valley Correctional Facility will be allowed to send their breastmilk home for their children under a new program.
"A baby is an innocent party in all of this. I think we can all agree that a baby has done nothing wrong and deserves the best start in life, and if a parent wants to provide breast milk to their infant, they should be able to," said Danielle Atkinson, the founder and national executive director of Mothering Justice.
Inmates have been allowed to breastfeed during family visits at the facility and as needed to relieve pressure, but the breastmilk pumped couldn't be saved or transported. It was thrown away.
"People who have given birth have been allowed to pump and dump," said state Sen. Sue Shink, who worked on the policy change with state Sen. Erika Geiss. "The breast milk program takes it one step further and actually allows that milk to be delivered to the babies who will then be able to drink that nutritious food."
Atkinson tells CBS News Detroit the issue came to the attention of lawmakers when Siwatu Salama Ra, a Detroit activist, was incarcerated while pregnant and later couldn't provide breast milk outside of visits.
"She saw that it was a problem for other people and decided to make a change. We hope that that's how all legislation is made, right?" said Atkinson.
Women who participate in the program will have their milk picked up from the women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility by a family member or designated caregiver.
"I think the most important parts of the program are that we're not wasting breast milk," said Atkinson. "That an individual who's recently given birth is able to utilize this extremely, extremely rare and important resource and that we have proper storage for it so it doesn't go bad. That parent is not in pain from being engorged, and that it gets to the family that is taking care of the infant while parent is away."
