The founders of a human milk bank that provides sustenance to babies that can't be breastfed have been praised by the Prime Minister.

Dr Natalie Shenker and Gillian Weaver are due to meet Theresa May and receive a Point of Light award for making a positive change in their community.

The pairs impact comes in the form of surplus breast milk which they help get to babies in need.

Dr Shenker, who lives in St Albans, said: “This is a wonderful recognition of the hard work of so many people.

"We established the Hearts Milk Bank to help neonatal units access donor milk for very sick babies, but it’s clear that the need is so much greater.

“We are getting requests for milk from parents right across the UK, where the mum has cancer or has no breast tissue, but donor milk is hardly ever funded on the NHS for these families. We aim to make this support easily available.”

Hearts Milk Bank is the UK’s first independent, non-profit service to provide surplus breast milk to feed babies in need.

Milk is delivered by volunteer couriers on motorbikes, in all weathers and all times of day or night – with several riders sometimes creating relays to deliver the milk long distances.

One of only 14 milk banks in England, the Hearts Milk Bank is funded largely by the provision of donor milk to babies in 27 hospitals across London, the southeast, East Anglia and beyond.

Milk banks provide donated human milk to families that can’t breastfeed for any number of reasons.

These include babies who have undergone bowel or cardiac surgery; those who have mothers undergoing chemotherapy or with illnesses that can make breastfeeding impossible; and babies with terminal conditions who cannot tolerate other food.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Shurron Rosales, from Woodford Green, is just one of many hundreds of mums helped by the organisation after her son, Koan, spent most of his first two months in intensive care.

She said: “The worst was when he had seizures. We were worried beyond belief, miles from home, and I was dealing with the trauma, and recovering from major surgery.”

Koan was diagnosed with a genetic neurological condition and his mum was told he would face many challenges.

“He had epilepsy, eye problems, and wasn't able to swallow safely from a bottle so he was fed through a tube," she added.

"We were told there was a possibility he may never walk, never talk, and we were told he needed to stay well to reduce the risk of seizures, despite him having a compromised immune system.

“It felt like we were drowning in an ocean of fear and grief. But one thing we knew was that breastmilk was the best thing for him to keep him well.”

The family returned home and started to build a new life.

Koan didn't know how to breastfeed, and with so many challenges with his suck and swallow, plus tongue tie, the odds were against them.

“I needed to pump milk three times an hour to feed him through his tube and give him time at the breast to learn how to feed. I didn't have the supply, and I was physically and mentally exhausted,” she said.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

That's where the Hearts Milk Bank stepped in, providing a five-week supply of donor milk that enabled Ms Rosale to stop pumping and focus on feeding Koan.

“With their support, time and patience, we did it, and within weeks Koan was exclusively breastfed," she said.

"He's still breastfeeding today, at 19 months. And he's surpassed so many of the expectations we were given.

“We wholeheartedly believe that the breast milk Koan had has helped his physical and cognitive development. Plus, he's an amazingly happy boy. I'm proud to say I'm now donating milk back to the milk bank to help more families like ours.”

Since being established in 2016, the Hearts Milk Bank has provided over 2500 pints of milk to more than 1000 families across the region.

Mrs Weaver, who managed an NHS milk bank for over 25 years before retiring in 2015, said: “Natalie and I have also worked together to set up the Human Milk Foundation charity to support families.

"Both the Hearts Milk Bank and the Human Milk Foundation have been helped by voluntary contributions of different kinds, but the breastmilk donors are key to the success of the Hearts Milk Bank.”