Support Ukrainian Lactation Consultants

Milky Rivers is a non-governmental organization in Ukraine that has promoted breastfeeding for about 20 years.

Milky Rivers' Lactation Care Providers, and its client base, are now affected by bombings, power outages, water shortages, and migration.

While the context has changed due to war, the work of Ukrainian Lactation Care Providers has continued. Milky Rivers have adjusted their services, and online consults are now very popular. Since they often expect to meet with a client only once, Milky Rivers' Lactation Care Providers ensure that consults are as practical and concise as possible. One consult can make all the difference in the breastfeeding journey and can mean a lot for a family in an emergency situation.

Mothers often lack funds for lactation consults in a war context, but Milky Rivers' Lactation Care Providers still offer help to those who need it. Many consults are now offered for free or by donation.

A 30-minute online consult usually costs 500 hryvnias, or about USD $14.

A 1.5-hour video consult, which includes support for two weeks, is 1,200 hryvnias, approximately USD $33.

A now more rare and difficult in-person consult costs about the equivalent of USD $42.50.

(note that the Ukrainian hryvnia has dropped drastically in value due to the war, so these USD equivalents are much lower than pre-war.)

GOLD is supporting Milky Rivers Lactation Professionals by offering our own donation and inviting you to contribute.

Contributions to this fundraiser will go directly to Milky Rivers and will be used to support the free and by-donation consults that Lactation Care Providers are offering to those who need them.

There are 18 consultants of Milky Rivers, 9 are still in Ukraine and since the war 9 have moved abroad (Poland, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada). All are still supporting Ukrainian families while also navigating the effects of war on their own lives. We would like to collect enough for each consultant to receive CAD $300 to supplement the free and by-donation consults they have been offering.