The gift of life

Donor breast milk saved my daughter's life.

She was born six weeks premature, weighing just 4 pounds, 12 ounces. By NICU standards, that wasn't especially small. But all of her systems were immature—her heart, her lungs, and especially her digestive system.

She was too weak to breastfeed, so I pumped around the clock while she was fed through a tube. I remember sitting beside her, attached to a breast pump, feeling completely defeated. As a new mom, I felt like I was failing her.

A couple of weeks later, things got even worse.

Lauren developed serious digestive problems, and doctors suspected she was allergic to my breast milk. It was another devastating blow.

They switched her to the most elemental infant formula available, but nothing improved. After a series of tests, they discovered she wasn't allergic to my milk after all.

By then, it was too late.

My milk had dried up.

I tried everything I could think of to relactate, but my body wouldn't cooperate. Then, almost at the exact moment I accepted that reality, Lauren refused to drink the formula.

Panic set in.
What was I going to feed my baby?

That's when I learned about the Mothers' Milk Bank at Austin (MMBA).

For nearly 25 years, MMBA has collected, screened, pasteurized, and distributed donated human milk to hospitals and families, giving premature and medically fragile babies the nutrition and immune protection they desperately need.

Since its founding, MMBA has dispensed more than 10 million ounces of donor breast milk, thanks to thousands of mothers who chose to share what they had with babies they would never meet.

Lauren received donor breast milk throughout her first year of life.
Today, she's a thriving teenager.

This month is #NationalBreastfeedingMonth, and I hope you'll take a moment to learn about and support the Mothers' Milk Bank at Austin.

For many premature babies, breast milk isn't simply the preferred feeding option. It's a medical intervention that can reduce life-threatening complications, increase immunity, improve cognitive health, and give them the best possible start in life.

To every mother who pumped a little extra so babies like Lauren could survive, thrive, and grow, thank you.

Your gift isn’t just measured in ounces.
It’s measured in lives.

#NationalBreastfeedingMonth #Breastfeeding #MothersMilkBank #NICU #PrematureBabies