Donating Breast Milk: Jessica H’s Story
Posted on January 26, 2017 By Sarah K. breastfeeding, newborn/4th trimester, stories and letters
As a follow-up to my post, Donating Breast Milk- A Mama’s Gift to Mamas and Babies, I wanted to interview a few mamas who’ve had personal experience donating breast milk. My goal was to find out how the process of becoming a donor actually works and share this information with you, our MSW readers.
Jessica H. hails from northern California where she’s a WAHM to three kids; preschool-aged twin boys and an infant daughter. She loves to cook and bake, loves sewing, and she’s a foodie. She’s also a professional photographer: Jessica Kay Photography.
How did you find out about breast milk donation?
I learned about it while pregnant with my boys. It’s a big topic in the twin community since establishing a milk supply with two newborns can be such a struggle. I actually used donated breastmilk for my twins while I was working on my nursing and supply issues and knew I would pay if forward if I ever had a stash to donate.
Did you donate through a Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) milk bank?
I didn’t donate through a bank. I found a Human Milk 4 Human Babies local Facebook group and found a mama in need there. It was very easy since I’m already on my phone while nursing my babies, it didn’t add any inconvenience for me. A few moms responded but I picked one who was local to make the exchange easier, rather than shipping.
Please describe the donation process. How did you package, send, meet-up, etc.?
I posted on the Facebook group that I had milk to donate. Moms who were interested messaged me with their situation and location. Some moms just wanted to bulk up their stash, but the mom I chose to donate to had a premie adopted baby and wanted the breastmilk for him. I felt a connection with her and we met in the parking lot of a Safeway. Some of the milk was frozen in reusable bottles and I requested she ship them back to me, which she did!
If you could donate again, is there anything you would change or do differently?
No, I’m very pleased with my first experience
What is your major take-away from this experience?
It felt great to see all my precious, hard-earned milk go to a little baby. Very rewarding, I think I was more grateful than the mom taking it!
Have you donated breast milk? What was your favorite part of the experience? Comment below to share!
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Tags: breast milk, breast pump, breastfeeding, breastfeeding twins, HM4HB, HMBANA, milk bank, milk donation, milk sharing, normalize breastfeeding, nursing twins, pump, social media, Twins