No more milk donations

Well here’s a topic for you, Donating breast milk. Yep I didn’t know it was a thing either unless it was to weirdos on the internet for money. When I had Heidi a touch too early I had to express in order to feed her and due to having been really successful with expressing I ended up like a prize winning jersey cow with a stash of milk even Sainsbury’s would have trouble rivalling. 

The issue with a tonne of milk in the freezer is there isn’t any room for the Ben and Jerry’s so some had to go and on speaking to a lactation consultant, she said try Chester Milk Bank, her exact words were ‘they will rip your arm off for it.’ She was not wrong. 

Turns out that human breast milk is brilliant for premature babies. Sometimes it is difficult to express milk straight after a birth and for babies that need it whilst their own mother is working to start their supply donor milk can be life saving. Breast milk contains bacteria that is beneficial to the baby’s gut reducing risks of serious complications such as necrotising enterocolitis. It also contains immunoglobulins which support the baby’s immune system and is easier to digest. 

Anyway the POINT NICOL WHAT’S THE POINT. Well the point is I wish more people knew about it! I had no clue and so many people don’t know you can donate. It’s not like donating should be part of your breastfeeding journey and it is a total faff and takes up a lot of space in the freezer BUT should you find yourself with surplus to requirements milk then please don’t forget the milk banks. If you have a freezer FULL and you think your baby will use it in 6 months and they are also breastfeeding the chances are you won’t get through it all. I am using a lot for Heidi’s baths now because I should have donated more right at the beginning but I just couldn’t let go of it all! All it takes is a phone call, a blood test to get the ball rolling. 

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