Project Breast Milk Needs Your Help to Create the Future of Formula

There’s no arguing that breast milk has big benefits. But for many like Dr. Chaeyoung Shin, breastfeeding or pumping may not be an option. As a woman who may not be able to carry children of her own, let alone breastfeed, Shin is working to close the nutritional gap between breast milk and formula. While ultimately fed is best, and Shin praises all that modern formulas provide for baby (she was a formula-fed baby herself), she envisions a future with even better formula, one that can mimic all the benefits of mom’s breast milk.

A chemical engineer Shin recently launched NAMUH (human spelled backward) an infant nutrition company focused on creating science-backed, parent-powered infant formulations. Using her background and proprietary technology, Shin and her team are on a mission to craft an infant formula structurally identical to human milk.

If you are thinking, why hasn’t anyone done this before? You aren’t alone. In a medical and research field that often ignores the problems women come against, especially mothers, Shin and her team are dedicated to making progress toward solutions that better the lives of parents and their children.

“Despite ample breast milk around us, money and scientific resources have not been focused on innovation for infants and mothers,” NAMUH explains on their website. Adding “The pressure on women to breastfeed starts from day one in the hospital. Yet breastfeeding isn’t always possible, and defaulting to formula comes with guilt and shame. We can no longer stand by and accept the notion that formula must be second to breast milk.”

But to make strides toward the future of formula, NAMUH needs your help. The organization is currently asking for breast milk donations from mothers in the US to be used for research purposes. None of your personal information will be shared, and samples will be randomized. NAMUH is accepting frozen breast milk donations up until they reach their goal of 2,000 samples. You can go to NAMUH’s website to sign up to donate your milk (they even take somewhat expired milk), and the company will send you everything you need to ship your milk at no cost.

For more information about NAMUH and to learn more about all they are doing to design a better formula, visit NAMUH.com.