Donating Breast Milk

[Rayoflight]

Hi ladies,

Saw a poster for this at the hospital and it's got me thinking. Does anyone else intend to try and donate breast milk to the human milk bank at the local hospital? Apparently they use it for the prem babies. I think this would be a lovely thing to do, if I can feed OK and I really don't mind expressing some extra to help out. I've got a good diet, I look after myself and if it can help someone going through a tough time with their little one then I'm all for it.

Gem x

 

[Pudds86]

I have thought about this too... but I am not sure how it will work with your boobs working on a supply and demand system... if you are expressing at the same time as feeding yours boobs are surely going to be engorged constantly?

I would love to do it though if i could get it to work well...

 

[sexyamy2005]

oh i havent heard bout this, will keep my eyes out for posters at hosp next week tho,

its a lovely idea

x

 

[JJ Mum]

That is a lovely idea, having used Scbu twice now with my babies, it would be nice to give something back. I hear that the breast milk makes soo much more difference to prem babies compared with terms ones because of the antibodies in it
I will ask when I am next at my hosp at 34 weeks - thanks

 

[evie_smith]

I had no idea about this I had 5oz in the freezer doing bugger all!


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[Annie050408]

I think it's a lovely idea but I suppose of I'm honest I would have refused it for Ella when she was in scbu. My milk never really came in and although it was enough for the first 2 weeks it was never enough for a baby to thrive on. I suppose if I'm honest I'd have felt weird about her having someone else's breast milk.

Having said that, if babies are born very early e.g. before 30 weeks and the colostrum would be hugely beneficial and the mother's hasn't come through then I can see the need for donors.

Either way it's a lovely thoughtful gift. X

 

[emmaandamyleigh]

wouldnt they not do test on it first incase there was a virus in it i think i would refuse it if i was getting milk in my own boobs for the little one i thought it comes thru once baby is born just a guess it is thoughtfull of them doing it but i would be scared of my baby having milk from someone elses breast. when amy was on scbu she had clear like watery stuff b4 she went on milk to build up her immune system and stuff. some babies dont get to go on milk straight away but it is a nice thoughtful gift for prem babies to help there antibodies

 

[Rayoflight]

You have a full screening apparently before becoming a donor which seems pretty standard. I bet its as thorough as blood donation, theyre not going to give any old milk to a sick baby im sure? There's a website on it where I found the info, I'll post it when I find it again.

 

[isobel84]

i think this is fab x

 

[xxbeckyxx]

Wow never heard about this but I'll definitely do it if I have enough milk come through! What a great idea

 

[Rayoflight]

Hey ladies this is the link I found http://www.ukamb.org/index.html

 

[Rayoflight]

Just phoned my nearest breast milk bank (Wirral, Merseyside) and the woman was lovely.

You have a full health screening via medical questionnaire and also a blood test before being accepted as a donor. There are certain restrictions, if you're on medication you can't donate and if you've ever had a blood transfusion then there are restrictions.

They supply you with all the bottles and you freeze the expressed milk straight away. Once a month someone comes to your home to collect it and supply you with more bottles. They also supply you with a brand new Medela electric breast pump (which you get to keep) and you start as soon as you feel ready and your own breastfeeding routine with your baby is established. Basically, you can do all the tests once the baby is born and then when your own routine is there you can start expressing and storing for the milk bank. You can opt out at any time, there is no pressure and no minimum requirements.

I really really really hope that I can feed and do this. I've watched my sister intently these past 5 months as she's breastfed her baby and she's gutted she didn't know that this scheme existed as she would definitely have done it too.

 

[xxbeckyxx]

It says you can't donate if you have any more than 3 cups of caffeinated a day, not that it matters cos I could stick to that, but does caffeine affect your baby if you have coffee then breastfeed?

 

[ShadowWolf]

This is a fab idea and I will be looking into it more once Lilly is here. I have had no experience with the SCBU myself but I think it's a lovely thought. Even if they never use it, at least it's there. May be the difference between life and death for someones LO and that's enough for me.

Thanks for the info.

Xxxx

 

[Rayoflight]

It says you can't donate if you have any more than 3 cups of caffeinated a day, not that it matters cos I could stick to that, but does caffeine affect your baby if you have coffee then breastfeed?

Yeah I think so. My sis is still on the decaff whilst feeding. When she eats something spicy like curry her baby ends up with the worst poos!

 

[xxbeckyxx]

Ooh good to know! Thanks!

 

[rbryan0205]

eeverything u eat and drink is transferred to your milk you will probabluy find certain foos irritate your baby when my mum breast fed me she couldnt eat apples!!

 

[xxbeckyxx]

For some reason I knew that obviously I don't wanna be drinking alcohol/smoking etc whilst breastfeeding but it hadn't twigged about the caffeine thing! I was sooo looking forward to a 'proper' coffee lol...I'll have to express some milk for bubs and then have my fix

 

[wirenth]

When my last LO was in SCBU I was told to express every 3hrs and ended up storing way too much breast milk in their fridge and freezer as LO wasn't taking as much I was expressing. At that point I asked the nurses if there was any chance that any of the other LO's in NICU or SCBU might be able to use it up rather than it just go to waste, they told me that they would look into it and my supplies started to go down so I think they might have found someone that wanted to use it. I know they were really surprised that I had suggested it but they were glad I did.

I'm not entirely sure whether it was used for any of the babies at my hospital but I do know that it had started disappearing from the fridge etc.

It is a wonderful idea and the thought that my milk was being used to help other babies was really nice. I am going to ask at the hospital this time round too x