‘Now, now, now. We need help now’: US warning over breast milk shortage as donations plunge

Demand for breast milk has surged during the pandemic, but supply from milk banks has fallen as people head back to work

Kayla Levering's twin daughters just celebrated their first birthday, a momentous milestone for a family who just survived a challenging year involving long stays in the neonatal intensive care unit: two months for one daughter, five months for the other.

It was a trying time, filled with surgeries and procedures and complications - and it was made more stressful by the pressure Levering felt to produce more breast milk for both babies. When a nutritionist finally mentioned donor milk, she felt as though a light had pierced the dark.