Seeking a forum for mothers, Nicole Britt turned to Facebook to get advice and support.
“We have shared our pregnancy woes, our birth stories and everything after from breast-feeding to teething and tantrums,” said Britt.
When it came to breast-feeding, she realized that though today’s society condones boobs plastered across various media platforms, breast-feeding is frowned upon. Seeing her fellow “April 2013 Mommies” support group do what comes naturally to women, helped boost her beliefs in not only breast-feeding, but helping those who couldn’t.
“I was able to make buckets of milk. However, we have a ton of mommies that struggle,” said Britt.
To offer aid, Britt turned to the Indiana Mothers’ Milk Bank to donate her ample breast milk.
In 2005, Indiana Mothers’ Milk Bank, Inc., was established to provide life-saving nutrients and improve health outcomes for premature and ill infants. The bank is the first and only donor human milk bank in Indiana.
“Human milk in a neonatal intensive-care unit is particularly important because it provides nutrients and antibodies that a cow-based formula cannot provide,” said Carissa Hawkins, communications coordinator at the Indiana Mothers’ Milk Bank. “Donor milk really meets the need for when a mom goes into labor and her milk supply doesn’t come in immediately.”
Donor milk can also be used if a mother is in critical care and can’t feed her baby; if a baby never latches on to the breast; or if a mother simply can’t produce an adequate amount of milk.
The American College of Pediatrics and many breast-feeding advocacy groups recommend human milk for a baby up to two years.
Hawkins explained that the process of a mother getting a supply of breast milk is safe and simple. A hospital or physician will determine if a mother is in need of donor milk. They either call the Indiana Mothers’ Milk Bank for an order or write a prescription for a woman in outpatient care. The requested milk is then pulled from the bank’s donor base.
Hawkins said women donate breast milk for a variety of reasons.
“Some moms have experienced the loss of a baby but their breast milk has come in. They want to find a positive outcome from a painful experience. Some moms are weaning their baby off of breast milk but are still able to produce milk and some women simply have an abundance of milk they don’t want to throw away,” said Hawkins.
There are also moms like Britt who donate for philanthropic reasons.
“Their website was helpful, their staff is friendly and the process was easy,” said Britt. “I also liked the way I felt after I handed them my liquid gold. I’m currently five months pregnant and hope I will be able to give again.”
The Indiana Mothers’ Milk Bank will accept milk from the time a woman gives birth to two years postpartum. Donors are thoroughly screened by a physician to determine if her milk will be beneficial; and her health and milk is monitored thereafter.
Once a woman is medically cleared for donation and contributes (milk can either be picked up or dropped off at a depot location such as Community North Hospital), the breast milk goes through a rigorous process.
Pasteurization technicians at the bank sort the breast milk by month and store it in freezers. Once the milk is needed, the tech will choose three to five mothers within the same month range to create a batch. Multiple mothers are chosen to ensure an average calorie count and average antibody level for every batch.
The milk is then thawed, the various mom’s milk is combined, bottled, sealed and put through an automatic pasteurization machine.
Once the milk is pasteurized it’s refrozen then a sample is sent to an independent lab for testing. Once it’s cleared, the milk is sent to a hospital or mother.
Breast milk donation is free.
The Indiana Mothers’ Milk Bank is always grateful for mothers who give breast milk but would like more African-American donors.
“We’ve only had 37 women of color donate since we opened in 2005. We had two so far this year and they’re not even from Indiana. We have a cultural gap,” said Hawkins.
Karen Stewart, registered nurse and international board certified lactation consultant said beyond donating to the bank, Black women don’t champion breast-feeding. This is due to lack of education and support.
“We focus on the mom while she’s carrying, but after we drop off,” said Stewart. “Have you seen a mom breast-feed in church? What about getting a moment at work to pump or breast-feed? We need to push support.”
Stewart encourages Black women to breast-feed and follow Britt’s example by donating to the milk bank.
Like the need for blood, breast milk is a valuable human resource. In fact, the Indiana Mothers’ Milk Bank has recently partnered with the Indiana Blood Center to make breast milk donation more accessible. They now provide milk depots for donors across Central Indiana and cities like Terre Haute. And oftentimes, critically ill babies are in need of both blood and breast milk making the blood center a one-stop-shop.
The need for babies receiving breast milk goes well beyond race. For some, a mother’s milk is a special gift. As part of a network of lactating mothers working to help infants in need, the Indiana Mothers’ Milk Bank gives women a way to share the gift that only they can provide.
Men or women who don’t meet the bank’s requirements can make a financial contribution.
For more information, call the Indiana Mother’s Milk Bank at (317) 536 – 1670; toll free at (877) 829 – 7470; or visit immb.org.
