From Hope to Joy

A Memoir of a Mother’s Determination and Her Micro Preemie’s Struggle to Beat the Odds

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Moms, Step-Moms, Grandmothers, Godmothers, Foster-Moms, Aunts and every woman who has “mothered” a child.

Here are some of my favorite quotes about mothers:

“The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.” ~Rajneesh

“No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother’s love. It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its quenchless fidelity like a star.” ~Edwin Hubbell Chapin

“A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” ~Tenneva Jordan

“The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.” ~Honoré de Balzac

Mothers should be recognized every day for what they do for their children except we don’t want or need the recognition. It’s part of the job we signed up for and we love it. However it’s nice to have the people you love the most in the world share some words of gratitude with you- their mother.

(Joy’s 1st Birthday on Mother’s Day 2013)

My first child’s first birthday was on my first Mother’s Day! Say that twice fast. Lol! And my last child’s first birthday was on Mother’s Day also. Weird.

(Me and My Mom)

(Joy was pooped at the end of the walk and was getting some cuddles from Grandma)

My best Mother’s Day memory yet (and I’ve been a Mother for 12 years now!) is Mother’s Day 2012. That is the day that I got to meet my daughter for the first time.

(Meeting my daughter for the first time on Mother’s Day)

As most of you know, my daughter Joy was born at 23 weeks gestation, weighing only 1 pound and 4 ounces. She was just 11 ¾ inches long.

(Joy at 2 months old)

Not only did I almost lose my life several times during my short pregnancy and again during the surgery to deliver her, but her extremely early birth put her at risk for severe medical issues, including losing her life as well.

Because of the seriousness of both of our conditions after her birth, I was not able to meet her or touch her for a few days. I refused to name her until I could meet her- although the doctors kept telling me that I might never get to meet her.

Well, it was late in the evening on Mother’s Day and I was able to convince a nurse to wheel me down (IVs and blood included) to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to meet my daughter.

I was only able to stay for 5 minutes because of my condition, but I got to meet her. She opened her eyes (which were meant to be shut for 4 more months) and stared in my direction. They tell me that she could not possibly see me because her eyes were not able to focus yet, but I know she did see me or sense me.

Then I sanitized my hand and was able to stick my pointer finger in the opening in the isolette (incubator). What happened next will stay with me forever. She clasped her tiny little fingers around my finger.

I smiled.

I felt Joy for the first time in months.

That night I called my husband and told him that I wanted to name her Joy.

He agreed.

(Me and my gang)

Anyway… as I write this post today, on Mother’s Day 2017, we are also celebrating my oldest son’s 12^th Birthday, which falls on Mother’s Day again.

I would not have it any other way!

Happy Mother’s Day.

Before I go, I would like to mention that Mother’s Day is not as happy for many people as it is for me. We should be sensitive to women who may be struggling today- like those who recently lost a mother, lost a child, or someone who has been unsuccessfully trying to have a child for some time. Let’s all try to be sensitive to those women. Click HERE to see how you can help them.

Thank you.

(Joy and me today)

My micro preemie turns 5 years old today!

5!

Life is certainly different now than it was before Joy was born.

Many people don’t believe that everything happens for a reason- but I do. I recognize that many bad things happen to many good people and that can hurt, but I’d like to believe that those bad things will lead to opportunities for great things, although it may not feel that way at the time.

 “I trust that everything happens for a reason, even if we are not wise enough to see it.”  — Oprah Winfrey

“Miracles happen every day, change your perception of what a miracle is and you’ll see them all around you.”  — Jon Bon Jovi

I also believe that I was granted a miracle. It was not just a miracle that my daughter survived, but it was also a miracle that I am alive as well. So the question became “What will I do with this miracle and how can I become worthy of it?”

Five years ago after delivering Joy at 23 weeks gestation and almost losing my life on four different occasions, I had no plans to become an author or an advocate for premature babies, but the universe kept telling me otherwise. I had little time for much, but I could not suppress the feeling that I had to use our story for something greater. I felt I needed to share both our pains and successes with the world so that other families could benefit from learning about what we went through. This is what led me to become a writer, blogger, speaker, and advocate for premature babies and their families.

(Joy- a few days old)

(2 months old)

(Joy’s 1st Birthday)

My sweet little “Baby Joy”, as most family members call her, is not a baby anymore. Although the road to her 5th Birthday has been quite bumpy, we are so happy we decided to take the journey.

Joy has been just that to everyone in her life. She is funny- laughing at all of her own jokes. She loves to sing, dance, and dress up like a princess each day, but she also loves to play any game involving swords and any other toys her brothers like to play with.

Look at her now! Joy was born at 1 pound and 4 ounces and was just 11 3/4 inches long. She spent 121 days in the NICU- most of which were painful and uncertain. Today she suffers from some lung issues (Bronchial Pulmonary Dysplasia) but is otherwise perfectly healthy and loves life.

Joy has taught us all to be more patient and tolerant than we may have been otherwise. She has taught us all to love unconditionally and live our lives to the fullest.

(Me and my loves)

Joy has taught me a few more lessons- some of which I never would have learned without her:

1. Trust your mother’s intuition. Your brain can trick you. Your heart can blind you. But your mother’s intuition is rarely wrong.
2. Don’t put off doing things or saying things today because tomorrow is not guaranteed.
3. Memories are more important than money. Don’t go broke, but spend some of your money experiencing life with your family. They will have those memories when you’re gone.
4. Never give up. Today can be hard and tomorrow may be worse, but eventually the sun always rises.
5. Helping others can also heal you. This is something that I learn more and more each time I participate in a fundraising event or speak to a crowd.

These are lessons that I hope to instill in my children as they grow.

As I’m sitting here tonight writing this blog, I cannot help to imagine how different life would be today if I was not granted the miracle of Joy.

But I was.

Happy 5^th Birthday to my Preemie Princess!

Love, Mommy

Sunday May 7^th was the Go the Distance Walk and Family Fun Day to raise money for Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital. Although it was a bit chilly, we were so happy that it didn’t rain like it did last year!

(Me and my loves)

Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital is a member of the larger Westchester Medical Center. They are a pediatric hospital committed to providing the most advanced care available to more than 20,000 critically ill infants and children each year. It’s the embodied vision of hundreds of parents, medical professionals and community leaders who had a fervent desire to create a “family-centered” children’s hospital where parents are not visitors but partners, and where the unique creative surroundings are an integral part of the healing process. They have that down pat!

(team shirts)

What makes Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital so unique?

It hosts:

• The region’s only intensive care unit design specifically for pediatric care
• A state-of-the-art, Level IV (most sophisticated) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the only one in the region and WHY WE LOVE IT!
• Private in-patient rooms with bathrooms, showers and parent sleeping areas
• Pre-school, elementary and teen-aged activity rooms.
• The Ronald McDonald House of the Greater Hudson Valley is conveniently located just steps away from Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital.
• A Family Resource Center with a library that serves as a respite area for parents and families as well as a portal to health and other information via Web-accessible computers
• A unique lobby providing visual diversions for children and families, including the world’s largest doll-house, a New York baseball museum, a performing arts stage and a walk-through aquarium.
• Age-specific “neighborhoods,” each with its own theme, décor, and snack center
• Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy programs that utilize multiple playrooms and an art studio, as well as art and music therapy programs.

That’s why we walk and that’s where the donations go!

(most of our 2017 walkers)

Team From Hope to Joy had a Superstar Tent and a pretty good turnout. Unfortunately the walk fell on the same day as family Communion, so we had a few less people than normal, but that didn’t stop us!

(my reason for walking)

The walkers were treated to bagels, donuts, granola bars, water, juice and coffee both before and after the walk.

There was a huge bubble truck cranking out bubbles for the kids to run through and pop; two bounce houses, and a tent with games with prizes!

(the bubble truck)

Also, there were a few princesses and Star Wars characters walking around for photo ops.

Many members of Westchester’s Iowa Style Wrestling club showed up to walk with our team and support the hospital. Thanks guys!

(Iowa Style Wrestling members)

Team From Hope to Joy raised over $4500 for the hospital and we hope to continue to support them at the walk each and every year. Visit our team page by clicking HERE.

We were the #5 on the Top Teams list. Check it out HERE:

(two grandpas)

It just so happens that May 7th was also Parents of Preemies Day- a day started by Graham’s Foundation to show support for the parents who love and nurture the premature babies of the world. You can read more about Parents of Preemie’s Day by clicking HERE.

(our table)

Click HERE to read about and see some pictures of last year’s walk.

You can still donate for another week or so by clicking on our Team Page.

Thanks for your support and we hope to see you at the 2018 Go the Distance Walk and Family Fun Day.

I recently had the honor and pleasure of participating in the 3^rd Annual FDA-INC Neonatal Scientific Workshop in Bethesda, Maryland.

My role, as co-chair of the Communications Workgroup, was to plan and execute a 90 minute Breakout Session entitled “Communication Strategies to Promote a Research Culture”.

(Photo by Wakako Eklund)

Christina Bucci-Rechtweg (a pediatrician by trade who now works for Novartis Pharmaceuticals) was the other co-chair and I could not have asked for a better partner. Christina and I have known each other for a little over a year and I have had the pleasure of speaking with her on Capitol Hill on two different occasions (both addressing the Senate and the House of Representatives) on behalf of S.2041 and H.R. 5182. Christina is brilliant and hard-working and was instrumental in planning our Breakout Session activities.

But before I get into what our session was about and what we accomplished, I’m betting that you would like to know what INC and C-Path are and what the goal of the 3^rd Annual FDA-INC Neonatal Scientific Workshop actually was.

C-Path (Critical Path Institute) was founded in 2005 in Tucson, Arizona, and is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to bringing scientists from the FDA, industry and academia all together to collaborate and improve the drug development and regulatory process for medical products.

INC (International Neonatal Consortium) launched on May 19, 2015, and is C-Path’s ninth consortium – a global collaboration formed to forge a predictable regulatory path for evaluating the safety and effectiveness of therapies for neonates.

“By uniting stakeholders from research institutions, drug developers, regulatory agencies, patient advocacy and other organizations,” said Janet Woodcock, Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (FDA/CDER), “INC can develop practical tools that can be incorporated into clinical trials for neonates, which will then lead to more successful, efficient trials and provide this population with better treatments.”

INC’s Statement of Purpose:

INC will accelerate the development of safe and effective therapies for neonates. The consortium will engage the global neonatal community – families, neonatal nurses, academic scientists, regulators, pharmaceutical investigators, advocacy organizations, and funders – to focus on the needs of the neonate. Through teams that share data, knowledge, and expertise, INC will advance medical innovation and regulatory science for this underserved population.

I’m honored to be a part of INC!

At this workshop, co-sponsored by the FDA and Critical Path Institute, participants reviewed the progress of INC, discussed the challenges in conducting registration trials to prevent preterm birth, and the breakout groups tackled specific regulatory science issues for developing safe and effective therapies for neonates. Regulators from around the world engaged in working sessions with academic experts, interested companies, neonatal nursing organizations, NIH institutes, family groups and nonprofit organizations.

Day 1 began with several meetings of the working groups, including Severity for Neonatal Adverse Events, Retinopathy of Prematurity, and the Seizures Workgroup, and it ended with a workgroup dinner reception at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel.

(PPA Members with Susan McCune- FDA Director of Pediatric Therapeutics: Photo by Wakako Eklund)

Day 2 began with Dr. Jonathan Davis (Tufts University, INC Co-Director) making the opening remarks. I also know Dr. Davis for over a year as he was the spearhead behind the Senate and House bills I mentioned above, and I had the pleasure of speaking on Capitol Hill with him. Dr. Davis has dedicated his entire career to bettering the outcomes of premature babies. Next, Susan McCune (Director of Office of Pediatric Therapeutics, FDA) gave a presentation titled “A New Era for Developing Neonatal Therapeutics”. After she was done speaking, each workgroup had a few minutes to share updates about what they have done and looked to accomplish in their Breakout Sessions. Soon after the workgroup summaries were complete, a presentation titled “Developing Endpoints for Use in Regulated Neonatal Trials” was given by Gerry Baer (FDA) and Ralph Bax (European Medicines Agency).

(Dr. Davis: Photo by Wakako Eklund)

(Me, Christina Bucci-Rechtweg, Dr. Jonathan Davis and Ally Kayton on Capitol Hill in 2016)

After a short coffee break, there was a panel session titled “Plenary Session on Challenges in Conducting Registration Trials to Prevent Preterm Birth”. Several people participated in this session, including Mark Turner (University of Liverpool, INC Co-Director), Olof Rugarn (Ferring Pharmaceuticals), Yosuke Komatsu (GlaxoSmithKline), Louise Kenny (University College- Cork Ireland), Errol Norwitz (Tufts Medical Center), Mehali Patel (Bliss), Deb Discenza (Preemie World and member of Preemie Parent Alliance), Ralph Bax (European Medicines Agency), and Barbara Wesley (FDA). Nicole Thiele from EFCNI (European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants) also called in and gave a presentation via WebEx.

(Mark Turner: Photo by Wakako Eklund)

Following the Plenary Session, we all took a break to eat lunch and get ready for the Breakout Sessions.

(Deb asked the members of PPA to stand. You can see me standing in the back! Photo by Wakako Eklund)

There were several concurrent Breakout Sessions, including the one that I was a part of, so I can only summarize what went on in the other sessions, after giving details about mine.

(Our Breakout Session: Photo by Wakako Eklund)

Christina Bucci-Rechtweg and I led the Breakout Session called “Communication Strategies to Promote a Research Culture”. We had a few goals. We wanted to build strategies that embed neonatal research that is family-centered in the NICU culture. In order to do this, we looked to first identify communication challenges in neonatal units that impede successful implementation of research.

(Members of the Communications Workgroup: Photo by Wakako Eklund)

We planned a mapping activity where we asked the participants to answer four questions regarding how parents are approached to enroll their babies in clinical trials and what makes them more likely to consent. This activity gave us a great deal of information on the current practices surrounding clinical trials in the NICU. Both Christina and I shared an informal literature review of some of the articles previously published on clinical trials in the NICU, from both the medical and the parent perspective. We also shared results from a survey we had previously given to parents of premature babies who are members of the Preemie Parent Alliance. This was also very telling and we are in the process of analyzing the entire survey, along with the parent comments and we will use that information to harness multi-stakeholder collaboration to address communication challenges and improve the quality and efficiency in neonatal research. Our session ended with a phone presentation given by Nicole Theile of EFCNI on a white paper they put out on the topics we were discussing.

Although Christina and I led the Breakout Session, we had a lot of input from the other members of our workgroup as well. I only recently joined INC and this workgroup so I am especially thankful to the other workgroup members for all of their work. They include Wakako Eklund (National Association of Neonatal Nurses), Lynn Hudson (C-Path), Carole Kenner (Council of International Neonatal Nurses), Jeff Ming (Sanofi Pharmaceuticals), Lily Mulugeta (FDA), Min Soo Park (Yonsei University), Ronald Portman (Novartis Pharmaceuticals), Randy Prescilla (Boston’s Children Hospital), Thomas Salaets (University of Leuven), Catherine Sherwin (University of Utah), Ine Skottheim Rusten (Norwegian Medicines Agency & PDCO), Adina Tocoian (Shire), Mark Turner (University of Liverpool), John Van Den Anker (Children’s National Health System), Sander Vinks (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center), Kelly Wade (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia), Siri Wang (Norwegian Medicines Agency and PDCO), and Anne Zajicek (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/National Institutes of Health).

(Lynn Hudson from C-Path: Photo by Wakako Eklund)

(Ron Portman: Photo by Wakako Eklund)

Two other Breakout Sessions were running concurrently to ours and those were titled “Multiple Enrollment in Clinical Trials” (Co-Chaired by Dr. Jonathan Davis of Tufts Medical Center/INC Co-Director and Gerri Baer from the FDA) and “Long-term Outcomes” (Co-Chaired by Neil Marlow from the University College London and Mark Turner from the University of Liverpool/INC Co-Director). Although I could not attend either of those sessions, I heard their summaries at the end of the day and it seems as if both sessions were very successful.

The conference continued on with more concurrent Breakout Sessions after a short coffee break. I attended the session titled “Regulatory Challenges in Conducting Trials to Prevent Preterm Birth” (Chaired by Mark Turner). The other two Breakout Sessions were “Developing a Neonatal Common Protocol Template” (Co-Chaired by Ron Portman from Novartis Pharmaceuticals/INC Co-Director and Anne Cropp of Echelon Pharma Solutions) and “Applying Generic Severity Grading Criteria to Persistent Pulmonary Insufficiency of Prematurity” (Co-Chaired by Karel Allegaert and Thomas Salaets from the University of Leuven).

(“Regulatory Challenges in Conducting Trials to Prevent Preterm Birth”: Photo by Wakako Eklund)

Towards the end of the day we all assembled again as leaders from each Breakout Session reported back to the group with how their Breakout Session went, what was accomplished and what their next steps would be.

There were two more presentations given before Mark Turner’s closing remarks and our dinner reception.

First was “The Role of INC in Pediatric Trial Networks” by Edward Connor (PTC, I-ACT for Children) and William Tremm (Janssen Research & Development) and second was “Nonclinical Models of Neonatal Therapies” by Susan McCune (FDA). Both gave us a lot to think about as we me move towards our next steps on our INC committees.

(Christina and I in deep thought: Photo by Wakako Eklund)

Although I have spoken at several NICU events and nonprofit fundraisers in the realm of premature births, this was my first time participating in a conference where I felt that real change was being enacted towards preventing premature births as well as improving the treatments and medications used on our world’s current and future premature babies. As a member of The Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund’s Board of Directors, I can speak for the whole organization in saying that we are excited at the thought of new clinical trials being done to produce new medications to treat and cure Necrotizing Enterocolitis.

I can only hope that my present inexperience as a member of the International Neonatal Consortium (INC) will lead to vast experience in this space, as I continue to serve on INC’s Communications Workgroup. I look forward to what we will accomplish.

One of our first goals following this workshop is to create and publish INC’s quarterly newsletter.

Be on the lookout for it.

Please click HERE to view our first two publications of INC NEWS.

I want to mention two members of the Preemie Parent Alliance (PPA for short) that attended the event. Deb Discenza runs Preemie World, which she started after her daughter’s premature birth 13 years ago. Deb also spoke at the workshop. Dr. Yamile Jackson attended the workshop as well. She runs Nurtured by Design, a company she started after designing The Zaky and Kangaroo Zak. They are developmental products used on premature babies in the NICU and I highly recommend them both. She started her company after her son’s premature birth 15 years ago.

I would like to personally thank Christina Bucci-Rechtweg for her leadership and patience as I acclimated to the INC Communication Workgroup.

(Me and Christina)

Alicia West, Laura Butte and Lynn Hudson of C-Path deserve a lot of thanks (and rest!) for all of their hard work in putting the workshop together.

(Alisha and Laura from C-Path: Photo by Wakako Eklund)

I would also like to thank Wakako Eklund (NANN) for taking such wonderful photos at the event and allowing us to share them. She is a very talented Neonatal Nurse Practitioner and photographer!

(Wakako with Carol Kenner of COINN: Photo by Wakako Eklund)

And last, I would like to thank Dr. Jonathan Davis (Tufts University/INC Co-Director) who suggested that I get involved in INC and allowed me to make such meaningful connections. The future premature babies of the world will be much better off because of the dedication of Dr. Davis and his passion for neonatology.

Please visit INC’s website to see how you can help us with our goals. After all, advancements in neonatology cannot happen without research.

Oh, and I even got to see a Cherry Blossom. It was not down by the Potomac, but at least I got to see one!

As always, thank you for reading and for your support 🙂

Please comment on anything you found interesting or would like to know more about.

I recently had the pleasure of being part of the Prolacta Bioscience Education Day and Facility Tour in City of Industry, CA. in late January of this year. Many of the participants flew in from various locations across the United States and the group was made of up assorted careers and stakeholders- all of which have an interest in helping our most fragile patients- premature babies.

As most of the great ideas of the past began, the idea of Prolacta Bioscience began with a few like-minded and passionate people sitting around a dining room table discussing ways to help premature babies thrive.

They had a vision and were able to take their dream and turn it into a reality. This reality is something that many parents across the country are thankful for today.

Prolacta Bioscience, Inc. is the pioneer in standardized human milk-based nutritional products for premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Prolacta believes that there is no adequate replacement for human breast milk and, as such, they believe infant nutritional products should be human milk-based. As a privately held, for-profit and scientifically driven company, committed to improving premature infant nutrition, Prolacta is using human milk to change the standard of care in the NICU.

In premature infants, breast milk feeding is associated with reduced infections and inflammatory diseases such as Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). NEC is a very serious disease where the intestinal tissue is injured or begins to die off and then a perforation occurs that allows bacteria and waste products to enter a baby’s blood stream. This very often leads to surgery requiring sections of the bowel to be removed and in many cases (about 40%) can lead to death. Human milk holds the power to reduce many of these cases.

For the first time in over six years, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued a policy statement regarding breastfeeding and the use of human milk. Their recommendations include a reaffirmation of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months; use of human milk for all preterm infants, whether mother’s own milk or pasteurized donor human milk; and human milk should be fortified, with protein, minerals, and vitamins to ensure optimal nutrient intake for infants weighing less than 1500 grams at birth.

Prolacta Bioscience takes these recommendations very seriously.

They are the only company that provides standardized donor human milk fortified to a minimum of 20 Cal/fl oz and provides an average of 1.1 g protein/100ml. Moreover, they are they are the only company that provides a human milk-based fortifier essential for these tiny preemies. Their breast milk has a two-year shelf life supported by real-time stability studies. They also offer the only donor-matching program that tests for common drugs of abuse, nicotine or other “adulterations”. They screen all milk for HIV-1, HCV and HBV by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Here is the kicker- the type of analysis/testing that puts Prolacta Bioscience ahead of their competitors- far ahead!

Wait for it…

They store the DNA of all breast milk donors and are able to guarantee that mothers who were removed from the donor list for various reasons (drugs, alcohol, and other adulterations) cannot simply “try again” at a later date and donate milk in the future. Once you are removed from the donor program you cannot donate again and no one else can ever donate your milk under another name because they can match it to your specific forensic DNA profile. This protects all recipients from receiving human milk that was donated by someone who had unfit milk in the past.

You may be wondering why I attended the Prolacta Bioscience Clinical Discussion and Facility Tour.

First, I am a member of the Preemie Parent Alliance (PPA for short). Our Organization is dedicated to representing the needs and best interests of preemie families in all facets of healthcare policy, care guidelines, advocacy, education and family support. As a national network we are establishing a unified parent voice to advocate for infants, who cannot speak for themselves, and their families. PPA is a proud supporter of Prolacta Bioscience and their mission to make human milk available to all premature babies.

(Prolacta hangs the NICU Parent’s Bill of Rights- developed by the Preemie Parent Alliance)

Second, I am a member of The Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund’s Board of Directors. The Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund (Morgan’s Fund) is an all-volunteer, public charity dedicated to Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC). Our mission is to promote public awareness about NEC and the potentially devastating effects it can have on preemies and their families, and to advance research to prevent, diagnose, treat, and ultimately cure NEC. I am a proud member of Morgan’s Fund and our mission fits in quite well with the goals of Prolacta Bioscience. We look forward to supporting all of Prolacta’s future research.

There is one more reason that I became interested in what Prolacta is doing. I have been teaching the secondary sciences at my local high school for over 18 years and all of this stuff is just plain fascinating!

Our day began with a delicious breakfast where Dr. Martin Lee (VP, Clinical Research and Development) and Dr. Victoria Niklas (Chief Medical and Scientific Officer) spoke to us about how Prolacta started, what they do, products they offer, and what they have accomplished since inception.

Right away I felt a vibe that you don’t often feel when visiting an industrial corporation. Everyone loves their job! From the people that spoke- to the people you passed in the hallways or chatted with in the labs- they all enjoy working at Prolacta and believe in what they do.

There is something to that.

Many Prolacta employees have a personal connection to a premature baby and that seems to motivate them even more. I can’t think of a better group of people to work on ways to improve the standard of care in the NICU, can you?

After our breakfast we were schooled on just how much effort goes into the guaranteeing the quality and safety of all Prolacta products. Scott Eaker (VP and Director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs) gave an impressive presentation on how they operate.

Next we learned about how the donor milk program works during a presentation by Raoqi Dulman (Director of Business Development). Since I already explained how detailed their milk donor screening process is, I will not do it again- but I will say that the processes they have in place puts Prolacta’s donor milk ahead of any other donor milk program out there, as far as quality and safety.

After after the presentations were done we were broken up into two groups and escorted around the facility. Joe Fournell (VP of Operations) was the leader of my tour. He was a great guide and he also has a connection to a premature birth.

The building is so clean that you could eat off their floors, although you are not allowed to eat in any other room but the conference room, for sanitary purposes. Lol!

Prolacta even has their own reverse osmosis water filtration system that they use just to clean any instruments that their products touch. They don’t add any water to their breast milk but they wanted to be sure everything is sanitary so they built their own water filtration system to ensure it. That’s pretty impressive!

The labs themselves far surpass any other science lab I have been to- and I have been to many as a career science teacher who takes a chemical engineering class each summer in various pharmaceutical companies on the east coast. The procedures in place and methods they use to guarantee that their donated breast milk is not only free from bacteria and viruses, but is also completely unsullied by anything from the lab, is downright amazing!

All employees who handle breast milk or other materials used in their products must be fully covered in gowns, gloves and masks. They look more like Hazmat inspectors than scientists working on human milk, but you can be sure that nothing is getting past those suits.

All labs are kept at a very cold temperature so that the milk remains stable. Because of this, many of the employees walking around in the lab areas are wearing snowsuits and winter gloves under their gowns. This is to ensure the quality of all of their human milk products.

What I also thought was incredible was how the coolers of breast milk are handled once they arrive. Each cooler is put in a window that is sealed on both sides and only one side can be opened at a time. This ensures that any outside dust or particles (but I did not see ANY- ANYWHERE!) cannot get sucked into the lab due to a draft or wind tunnel, and it also keeps the temperature at a constant refrigeration temperature. Once a mother’s cooler enters the lab side, a sample is taken from EACH cooler and tested for various diseases, bacteria, and viruses. EACH cooler of milk from EACH mother is also tested for opiates, tobacco, and a number of other substances that a mother could have in her system. They call this type of milk “adulterated” and they will not use ANY milk if any of those substances are found in the breast milk. I explained a lot of this earlier but it’s so impressive that I had to mention it again.

Each conference room and science lab has photos of babies hanging up and many rooms are named after babies that were successful and thrived because of using either Prolacta’s donor milk or a product made from Prolacta’s donor milk. It was beautiful to see so many success stories hanging up and I am sure that this motivates the employees each and every day.

Our tour ended with a Q & A session over lunch after a brief presentation from Scott Elster (CEO of Prolata Bioscience). He is pretty entertaining!

A shuttle took us back to our hotel where we had a few hours to rest before our networking dinner. It was nice to be able to sit and have some casual conversation with so many people who share the same goals and who feel just as much of a drive to help premature babies thrive.

Prolacta Bioscience is also participating in some very cutting edge scientific studies at the moment- looking into how human milk and it’s products can help with other diseases and disorders afflicting all types of children and not just premature babies.

One such study is in full-term babies diagnosed with single ventricle physiology (sometimes called a “single ventricle defect” or “single ventricle anomaly”). This is a disease where the babies functionally have only one heart ventricle (most of us have two). Typically these babies require corrective surgery within the first week or so of life. These babies are similar to premature babies in part because their heart condition renders them unable to take in large amounts of fluid, so feeding them sufficiently enough to allow them to grow is a challenge. This study is investigating whether the approach that has been proven successful in preemies of using a human milk-based fortifier modified to meet their particular needs will be able to deliver enough additional nutrition to allow these babies to grow and recover from their surgery faster than they currently do.

Prolacta is also conducting another exciting study in children between six months and five years old who require a bone marrow transplant. This study is testing whether the use of a human milk-based product to deliver a portion of their nutrition will have effects both on the bacterial population of their guts and on their immune systems, such that the rate of occurrence of a serious complication called graft-versus-host disease will be reduced.

I can’t wait to hear about these results and I wonder about the plethora of other medical issues that can be addressed by the science of human milk in the future. I’m sure that the scientists at Prolacta Bioscience are already brainstorming about it!

Well, I will finish with once again saying how impressed I was with Prolacta Bioscience and I feel honored that I was invited to participate in their Education Day and Facility Tour.

They even left a gift for me in my hotel room! And look at my view!

For more information on Prolacta’s cutting edge research in the field of human milk and to learn more about their donor milk program and products, please visit http://www.prolacta.com.

Click HERE to watch an exclusive “Behind-The-Scenes” video about Prolacta’s state-of-the-art human milk processing facility.

I hope I”m invited back for another event in the future!