Cedric the intrepid Basset Hound and Ebbie the adventurous Labrador, along with their human support team, will be conquering Snowdon to raise money for the Chester Human Milk Bank.  Cedric and Ebbie adore 'their' baby and are undertaking this challenge to help other babies.

They have seen how breastmilk has benefitted the baby in their family, and understand the benefits that breastmilk can give to babies whose mothers are unable to breastfeed. 

Cedric only has little legs and Snowdon's quite a big mountain for such a short dog, luckily Ebbie will be on hand to encourage him to reach the summit.  Cedric and Ebbie hope that by raising money they will able to support the milk bank – a bank for life!  Exact date to be confirmed - will be dependent upon weather conditions and safety.

 

For more details please visit http://www.chestermilkbank.org.uk/index.html 

The information below has been taken from the Chester Milk Bank webpage.

"Although the donated milk is given freely, it has been calculated that the cost of screening volunteer donors, collecting donated milk, testing, processing and storing, costs in the region of £100 per litre. These costs are met from charitable donations received by the milk bank.

Donor milk banking is the collection, screening, processing, storing and distribution of human milk from volunteer breastfeeding mothers. The concept of donor milk banking became popular during the last hundred years as physicians interested in the survival of vulnerable infants and children looked for the optimum nutrition. The first milk bank of modern times was established in Vienna in 1909 closely followed by Boston, USA in 1911. It is on record that donor mothers at this time were physically examined for disease. By the 1920s and 30s more milk banks were founded across the world including the UK. In 1943, the American Academy of Pediatrics published the first guidelines for milk banking operations. By the 1970s, Neonatology became a medical speciality in its own right and smaller premature infants began to survive at increasingly earlier gestation. In the UK donor milk became an integral part of feeding these infants and numerous donor milk banks existed across the UK.

Today there is improved understanding of the benefits of human milk especially for premature babies. Donor milk is now dispensed to premature babies with medical and nutritional needs and occasionally older infants and children with nutritional and/or immunological problems."