I saw first hand the effects lack of breastmilk can have in preemies; NEC seemed to be looming in every other room at our NICU. A huge review article found that donor breast milk decreased the risk of NEC (although it also showed preemies grew at a slower rate, the article did not look at fortified breast milk, which is what is used in the hospital V was hospitalized at, and your hospital likely does too). So I decided to do something about it...
With my huge supply, I offered to donate to a fellow NICU baby whose mom after literally trying every trick in the book was unable to get any more milk. At first my husband and parents were weary of me donating my milk; even though I am very meticulous with my pumping and storing of milk, they were worried that if the baby took a turn for the worse, the parents would blame me and possibly sue me. A friend of mine who is a lawyer searched for past cases of litigation surrounding donated breast milk and did not find any cases, but warned me that while I would probably not be held accountable in court, that the emotional turmoil of having to go though such a process with a tiny preemie to take care of may not be worth it in the end. After thinking it through and meeting the family in question, I decided to go ahead with it anyway. They seemed like really decent people and the benefit of knowing I was helping out another preemie baby who was worse off than my miss V, just knowing that I could make someone's NICU stay a little easier was worth what I considered to be the small risk that it would all backfire on me. For my husband's sake, I did get the parents to sign a consent form stating that they understood the risks and freed me of any liability, though my friend was quite clear that such a document probably could not have a lawsuit rejected. In the end, tragically the little preemie did not survive, due to respiratory complications... I am so incredibly glad that I donated my milk to her though, apparently one of her greatest joys was drinking breastmilk from the bottle. To know I was instrumental in providing that tiny bit of happiness to that little bub means the world to me and I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Luckily, my area just recently started collecting breast milk donations for a breast milk bank! I officially signed up a few days ago and have started collecting my milk. It was a multistep process, but really not a big deal. First, there was a telephone questionnaire, basically seeing if I had extra milk to begin with (mom should of course never sacrifice feeding their own babies in order to donate) and evaluating my risk of transmittable diseases like HIV, hepatitis, syphilis, etc. Once that was ok, they sent me a little pamphlet explaining the process and how to properly collect breast milk for preemies. Then a nurse came to my house to take a blood sample to make extra sure I did not have any transmittable diseases. He also left me a box with 100 bottles to collect my milk in. Once the blood tests were done, I could start collecting my milk. After 20 bottles are completed (or more if I have enough freezer space), all I have to do is call a hotline and they will come pick up the milk at my house, at my convenience. Before they will release my milk to be used, I have to have my doctor complete one last form confirming that I am healthy enough to give my milk and that my baby can spare some milk. That's it! They are going to be giving the milk to preemies who are 32 weeks or younger. With V having been born at just 29 weeks, I feel a real connection to these babies and I am so very proud to be able to contribute to their well being!
With my huge supply, I offered to donate to a fellow NICU baby whose mom after literally trying every trick in the book was unable to get any more milk. At first my husband and parents were weary of me donating my milk; even though I am very meticulous with my pumping and storing of milk, they were worried that if the baby took a turn for the worse, the parents would blame me and possibly sue me. A friend of mine who is a lawyer searched for past cases of litigation surrounding donated breast milk and did not find any cases, but warned me that while I would probably not be held accountable in court, that the emotional turmoil of having to go though such a process with a tiny preemie to take care of may not be worth it in the end. After thinking it through and meeting the family in question, I decided to go ahead with it anyway. They seemed like really decent people and the benefit of knowing I was helping out another preemie baby who was worse off than my miss V, just knowing that I could make someone's NICU stay a little easier was worth what I considered to be the small risk that it would all backfire on me. For my husband's sake, I did get the parents to sign a consent form stating that they understood the risks and freed me of any liability, though my friend was quite clear that such a document probably could not have a lawsuit rejected. In the end, tragically the little preemie did not survive, due to respiratory complications... I am so incredibly glad that I donated my milk to her though, apparently one of her greatest joys was drinking breastmilk from the bottle. To know I was instrumental in providing that tiny bit of happiness to that little bub means the world to me and I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Luckily, my area just recently started collecting breast milk donations for a breast milk bank! I officially signed up a few days ago and have started collecting my milk. It was a multistep process, but really not a big deal. First, there was a telephone questionnaire, basically seeing if I had extra milk to begin with (mom should of course never sacrifice feeding their own babies in order to donate) and evaluating my risk of transmittable diseases like HIV, hepatitis, syphilis, etc. Once that was ok, they sent me a little pamphlet explaining the process and how to properly collect breast milk for preemies. Then a nurse came to my house to take a blood sample to make extra sure I did not have any transmittable diseases. He also left me a box with 100 bottles to collect my milk in. Once the blood tests were done, I could start collecting my milk. After 20 bottles are completed (or more if I have enough freezer space), all I have to do is call a hotline and they will come pick up the milk at my house, at my convenience. Before they will release my milk to be used, I have to have my doctor complete one last form confirming that I am healthy enough to give my milk and that my baby can spare some milk. That's it! They are going to be giving the milk to preemies who are 32 weeks or younger. With V having been born at just 29 weeks, I feel a real connection to these babies and I am so very proud to be able to contribute to their well being!
Whether you are the parent of a premature baby or not, if you are currently breastfeeding and have an extra supply, I cannot recommend enough signing up for breast milk donation! You can actually save lives and prevent surgeries on the tiniest babies you've ever seen!
Here is a link to find more information on donating breast milk in North America.
Happy pumping to you!
xo
C
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