Physical Health Albania Project #61404

MamiCare: Help at home for new mothers

by Mother and Child Hospital Foundation

Project Report | Sep 9, 2026
One Breast Pump. Many Mothers. Lasting Impact.

By Elizabeth Grezda | Executive Director

Kejsi preparing two pumps for rent

In 2022, we began our breast pump rental program with just three donated pumps.

Since then, the program has grown far beyond what we imagined:

2022: 3 pumps
2023: 7 pumps
2024: 15 pumps
2025: 30–35 pumps
2026: nearly 50 pumps

To date, these pumps have helped 234 mothers and their babies.

And we believe we can do so much more.

These pumps are saving the day for mothers.

For many breastfeeding mothers, access to a high-quality breast pump can mean the difference between continuing to breastfeed and having to stop.

Our pumps help mothers protect and maintain their milk supply when their babies cannot nurse effectively, when they need to be separated from their babies, or when they are returning to work. They can help mothers manage painful engorgement and other breastfeeding difficulties and can be an important tool in preventing problems from becoming more serious.

Most importantly, they help mothers continue providing their babies with breast milk—the food that is uniquely designed to meet their babies' nutritional and developmental needs.

But there is another reason this program is so important in Albania today: affordability.

A new breast pump of this quality can cost more than $3,000 in Albania. That is completely out of reach for most families.

Through MamiCare, a mother can rent a high-quality pump for just $35 for a month. And when even that is too much, we provide financial assistance.

This makes an expensive medical-grade resource accessible to families who otherwise might have no realistic way to obtain one.

Your investment keeps giving.

The beauty of this program is that a breast pump does not help only one mother.

A pump can be rented, returned, carefully maintained, and then placed into the hands of another mother who needs it.

That means every pump we add to our program has the potential to help many mothers and babies over its lifetime.

We have already seen the impact grow dramatically—from 3 pumps in 2022 to nearly 50 today.

Now we want to take the next step:

Can you help us double our impact each year?

To do that, we need to continue investing in additional pumps and in the bottles, tubing, valves, membranes, and other parts necessary to keep our equipment safe and functioning at its best.

We don't want a mother with an urgent breastfeeding need to hear, “I'm sorry, all our pumps are already being used.”

We want to have enough pumps available to meet the growing demand.

Your gift also strengthens MamiCare for the long term.

There is something especially exciting about this program: your investment doesn't disappear after one mother is helped.

The rental fees generated by the pumps help MamiCare become more financially sustainable over time. That income helps us continue providing high-quality lactation consultations—in our center, in mothers' homes, and online—as well as prenatal education and guidance for couples before, during, and beyond birth.

A $30 investment today can help put a pump into circulation that can generate approximately $20 per month in rental income, while continuing to serve mothers and babies.

With your help, we can add more pumps, keep the pumps we already have working, make rentals accessible to families with limited financial resources, and build a breastfeeding support program that becomes increasingly sustainable year after year.

Help us double our impact.

One pump can serve many mothers.

One investment can keep giving.

And together, we can help hundreds more mothers give their babies the very best start possible.

With many thanks from the whole MamiCare Team,

Lizzy, Kejsi, Esmeralda and Ledisjana

One mother's results

Pump parts

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May 13, 2026
You are not alone

By Elizabeth Grezda | Executive Director

May classes

Nuk je vetëm. You are not alone.

This is the message every new parent the world over needs to hear. Birth and postpartum can be a very isolating and scary time in the best of circumstances.

Birth is a time of immense transition emotionally, physically and socially. and every new mom and dad face a steep learning curve

Informed and empowered new parents will always be a better caregivers to their baby as well as taking care of eachother.

This is why MamiCare includes dads in our prenatal trainings.

This is why our midwife goes to moms at home if they can't get out.

This is why our midwife and the psychologist offer well mom visits online and on the phone.

This is why we keep looking to include more moms not only in Tirana, but throughout Albania and in the Albanian-speaking diaspora.

We thank you for your giving and your prayers. Together, we have come alongside these moms, giving them resources they didn't know existed and finding strength they didn't know they had.

What is new?

We are making new connections to others providing services to expectant and new parents including -

Dr Ernald, a well-established ObGyn in our neighborhood who has been looking for a reliable midwife to visit his patients after they give birth.

Blenda, a baby physical therapist who specializes in neck tension that is so often at the root of feeding problems. We are planning a class for newborns with her in the center as well as set up for visits with her.

Dina, a specialist in pregnancy and postpartum exercise and nutrition who we can work with to reach pregnant moms so they can have healthier pregnancies.

Ninehana, a startup to provide a space online for pregnant moms to find community and answers to their questions.

We pray that these bridges to care beyond what we have now will help create a healthy pathway for moms today and into the future.

Thank you for your donations that help us to support moms at a very critical moment in their lives.

Together we can!

Lizzy

home visit

home visit recommendations

Treatment corner

Links:

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Jan 7, 2026
Best moments with moms in 2025

By Elizabeth Grezda | Executive Director

MamiCare Team

Happy New Year 2026!

With your help, MamiCare is able to come alongside thousands of moms with knowledge, empathy, hands-on support, and tools that new families need.

I asked my staff for some of their most memorable interactions with moms in 2025.

One mom almost gave up breastfeeding in the first two weeks after birth. Our midwife Esmeralda changed everything in one visit. After a very difficult pregnancy and traumatic birth, a mother approached us for help in drying up her milk supply because she did not feel she could breastfeed her newborn. One visit in our center with Esmeralda was all it took to help this mother understand how much she would gain from pushing through. Just a week later, she wrote us to say how thankful she was that she was given the support she did not know she needed. Her attachment with her newborn was strengthened, and her and her baby's health will both be stronger for continuing to breastfeed.

Another mom was in deep grief and was having very hard time loving her new baby. Ledisjana was able to listen to her in her sadness after having just lost her father and encourage her. Through messages back and forth, Ledisjana helped her come to terms with her new reality and learn to love her newborn baby even as she grieved the loss of her father. With over 2 million views of our educational content on Instagram, we often hear from moms who are in trouble and need counsel for their specific situation. It is the job of Ledi to help them connect to the midwife, physical therapist, OBGyn or mental health support, or simply find the tools they need to breastfeed more effectively.

Sometimes moms need to come to our classes with their young children in tow. Kejsi helped a mom with a new baby and a mom with a little boy feel right at home and comfortably follow along with the First Aid class. It is so important for us that the whole family is impacted by our classes, so we encourage couples to come to our prenatal classes together and support eachother in learning as well as new moms to come along with their babies to the class.

If you want to join with us in this new year to keep showing up for new moms and providing them with the support they need, we are ready to partner with you again. Each of your gifts makes it possible for us to sustain the work we do and grow to meet the needs of more moms.

Blessings on the new year to you and your families!

Lizzy, for our whole team

First Aid Class

Links:

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