Milk banking with Gillian Weaver MBE

Makes Milk with Emma Pickett

For those parents with babies in special care, or those wanting to maintain feeding with human milk while going through their own medical treatment, milk banks are a crucial service. Over the last few decades, they often have Gillian Weaver to thank for that.

My guest this week, Gillian Weaver was president of the European Milk Bank Association from 2012 to 2015. She co-founded Hearts Milk Bank in Hertfordshire, with Dr. Natalie Schenker, after a long career of running milk banks at a hands-on level and also consulting internationally. She has been awarded an MBE in recognition of her services to milk banking and breastfeeding.

We talk about how Gillian got started in the world of milk banks, how the service has evolved, how donations and supply works, and the future of the Human Milk Foundation and Hearts Milk Bank.

My new book, ‘Supporting the Transition from Breastfeeding: a Guide to Weaning for Professionals, Supporters and Parents’, is out now.

You can get 10% off the book at the Jessica Kingsley press website, that's uk.jkp.com using the code MMPE10 at checkout.

Follow me on Twitter @MakesMilk and on Instagram @emmapickettibclc or find out more on my website www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com

Find out more about Gillian’s work at

Human Milk Foundation https://humanmilkfoundation.org/

Hearts Milk Bank https://humanmilkfoundation.org/hearts-milk-bank/

Find a milk bank near you in the UK here:

UK Human Milk Bank - Breast Milk Donation, BreastMilk Storage, UKAMB

This podcast is presented by Emma Pickett IBCLC, and produced by Emily Crosby Media.