COVID-19: Mothers rally to donate vital breastmilk

Hong Kong: Whisked out of her Hong Kong home by medics in protective gear, Catherine Kosasih didn't know if or when she would see her children - aged just four months and 21 months - again. Once in hospital, her COVID-19 diagnosis was confirmed, she was kept in isolation and her husband and children quarantined. Worse still, they discovered that because her youngest was allergic to formula, there was no way to feed her. | Cool bags containing donated frozen breastmilk are seen in the boot of a car.

"I left the house suddenly and I didn't know how long I would be in the hospital. I had so many worries but one of the biggest ones was for the baby, who is breastfed, especially after she had such a bad reaction to formula that my husband was close to calling an ambulance," explains the 33-year-old. | Nissa Cornish (L) collects one of many bags containing frozen breastmilk, donated by French mother Aude Senelar.

After doctors told Kosasih to dump her pumped milk because the medication she was taking to treat the virus could be passed to her baby, she contacted Gemma MacFarlane founder of Hong Kong Breastfeeding, a social media support group. MacFarlane posted an SOS call for donations online. | Aude Senelar pours freshly expressed milk into a storage bag.

After MacFarlane's callout and as the offers flooded in, Gillian Coull took over collation and collection, enlisting partner David Barnaby as motorbike courier to zoom around the city getting the milk. | Volunteer David Barnaby unloads a bag containing donated frozen breastmilk after he rode from family to family, collecting the milk on his motorbike and driving.

Within hours, scores of mothers had come together to offer what they could, and within a day more than 15 litres - enough to feed the baby for around two weeks - had been pledged. | Ana Rivera (L) and other mothers pack cool bags containing donated frozen breastmilk and groceries in Hong Kong.

"I was in tears, I still can't believe so many mums pumped milk for my baby," says Kosasih, who suffered fever, fatigue, muscle pain, and had white spots on her lungs. She spent two weeks in hospital battling the virus that has killed more than 200,000 people worldwide since it was first identified in China in December. | Ana Rivera sorts bags containing donated frozen breastmilk.

Novel coronavirus has so far not been found in breast milk and the World Health Organization says mothers who have COVID-19 and wish to breastfeed should be supported to do so safely. | Aude Senelar sits with her baby daughter Lola as she uses a pump to express breastmilk at her home.

For many parents, the fear of their children facing quarantine or hospitalisation alone, or being separated from them, is far more of a concern than contracting the virus itself. | Aude Senelar carries a cool bag containing her frozen breastmilk before passing it to a friend in Hong Kong.

Aude Senelar pours freshly expressed milk into a storage bag.

Ana Rivera (L) and charity worker Nissa Cornish (R) pack cool bags containing donated frozen breastmilk into a car.

Yolanda Jacoby (R) sorts bags containing donated frozen breastmilk.

Nicole Bautista carries groceries and a cool bag (R) containing her donated frozen breastmilk.

Nissa Cornish (L) collects a cool bag containing donated breastmilk from French mother Aude Senelar (R).

Nissa Cornish (centre L), Ana Rivera (centre R) and other mothers pack bags containing donated frozen breastmilk at a meeting point.