£1 Million of Breast Milk Support for Scotland’s Smallest Patients

How Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity has supported families, volunteers and clinicians to give premature babies the best possible start.

For families with babies born too soon or too sick, breast milk can be a vital lifeline. Over the past 25 years, more than £1 million has been invested in projects and partnerships to help ensure that babies across Scotland receive the nourishment they need, when it matters most.

This long-term commitment was recently marked through support for the first “Growing Breastfeeding: Rooted in Connection” conference, a gathering of healthcare professionals involved in infant feeding, to strengthen networks and encourage collaboration.

“We are exceptionally proud to have supported this important conference and to have invested in breastfeeding support for more than two decades. Breast milk can be lifesaving for premature and critically ill babies, and we’re committed to helping families at every step of their journey.”

Kirsten Watson, CEO, Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.

Getting Milk Where It’s Needed

Every day, volunteer drivers collect and deliver donated breast milk to hospitals across Scotland. These journeys ensure that vulnerable babies in neonatal units have access to essential nutrition when their own mother’s breast milk may not be available.

“Donor milk can be the difference between life and death for some of our tiniest patients. The support of the charity and the incredible volunteer drivers means we can get milk where it’s needed, quickly and safely,”

Debbie Barnett, NHSGCC Donor Milk Bank Coordinator

To further strengthen these journeys, the charity has recently begun working with Highland and Islands Blood Bikes (HAIBB). Volunteer drivers from HAIBB will help transport donor breast milk to and from Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children, extending the service to families in the Highlands.

“This exciting new partnership will increase resources available to donors in the north, and provide a more efficient service to the neonatal ward and babies in the Highland region.”

HAIBB Spokesperson

 

A Legacy of Love through Memory Milk

When a baby dies, families often face the physical reality of ongoing milk production at a time of profound loss. The Memory Milk Gift Initiative, supported by Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, offers parents the option to donate expressed breast milk in their baby’s memory, creating a lasting legacy of love while supporting other babies in neonatal care.

In the most difficult of circumstances, families are offered compassionate, informed choices about what happens next, whether that means donation or managing milk in another way. A hand-painted Memory Milk Gift Tree at the Milk Bank commemorates each baby whose milk has been donated.

“This tree means so much to us as it reminds us that our little boy won’t be forgotten.”

Charlene and Steven, whose son Matthew James, was one of the first remembered on the tree.

Supporting Mums in Neonatal Units

For parents of premature and critically ill babies, expressing milk can be both physically and emotionally demanding. The Express Yourself Project, supported by Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity, helps to make that journey a little easier.

Mums receive a pack with a cool bag, water bottle and infant feeding support contacts, making it simpler to express and transport milk safely, whether they’re in hospital or at home.

“The pack has been massively helpful, it eliminates all stress regarding travelling with breast milk, I could not be more grateful.”

Ainsley, NICU mum

Purpose-designed breastfeeding chairs, funded by the charity, also provide a more supportive environment for parents, helping them to bond with their baby, feed, and express milk in comfort during long days and nights on the unit.

Sharing Learning Across Scotland and the World

Breast milk support in Scotland is built on a network of families, donors, volunteers, healthcare staff, and supporters who come together to give vulnerable babies the best possible start. The charity’s role has been to help sustain and strengthen that network, ensuring it continues to grow.

As part of this, the award-winning Glasgow-Lahore Children’s Hospital Twinning Programme plays an important role in sharing lessons in breastfeeding and breast milk provision. Through this long-standing partnership, funded by Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, staff in Lahore, Pakistan and Glasgow work together on education programmes, policy strengthening, and infant feeding practice improvement.

“Together, we’re making sure babies have the best chance to thrive.”

Kirsten Watson, CEO, Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity

25 Years of Partnership and Progress

For a quarter of a century, breast milk provision and support has grown across the country. Behind every journey, whether a volunteer driver on the road, a mum expressing milk at 3 a.m., or a family honouring their baby through donation, lies an act of care that makes a difference. Through partnership, compassion, and a shared commitment to giving every baby the best possible start, NHSGCC, Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity and its supporters are helping to build a legacy that will last for generations.