Unable to Breastfeed Due to Chemo, Joanna Found a "Lactation Goddess"

[Cafe Amanda]

Joanna had looked forward to having a natural birth and breastfeeding her daughter. In the end, she got neither of things, having to undergo an emergency C-section and then getting a heartbreaking cancer diagnosis days later.

But thanks to a little good fortune and the generosity (and ample milk supply!) of another new mom, baby Maggie was still able to benefit from breastmilk.

Have you ever donated breastmilk, or has your baby received donor milk? Would you donate milk if you could, or seek out donor milk if you couldn't produce enough milk for your own baby?

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[purplerobin]

Quoting Regina_Falange:

I would not donate or accept donated milk.

What if you were breastfeeding and knew of a baby who needed breastmilk (as in, could not for some medical reason, have formula) and you were producing surplus??

I must say, your attitude sounds very selfish.

[imnotbarbie03]

My good friend had extra freezer stash and gave me some of it after my youngest was born. I was very appreciative. 

I wouldn't accept it from a stranger unless it had been through a milk bank screening process but a good friend, why not?

[kailu1835]

 That's awesome :)  My favorite story of all time (lactation related) is the single dad whose wife died giving birth, and there were a few different women throughout the day who would come nurse the baby.

My friend pumped for multiple families over various time periods.  Too time consuming for me, but if I only had one, I'd do it.  She also has nursed all 3 of my kids at one point or another while babysitting, and I've nursed 2 of hers.

[Randi02]

I donated milk to a little girl named Anaya.

She passed away in November :(

[mylilprincesses]

 sad to hear she couldn't breastfeed and had cancer and if the donor milk worked for her then great! as for me.. i wouldn't want to put something into my childs body from another being... kinda weird to me...

[lorsmommy08]

i'm a donor and would use donor milk if i couldn't bf

[black.eyeliner]

I was in that situation. I was alone and too sick to fight to get a donor. My parents took my daughter and I got the help I needed.

[Ahyb]

Do you have a reason why?

Quoting Regina_Falange:

I would not donate or accept donated milk.

[T-Rentsmommy06]

No, she was in another country. I donated to a local milk bank.

Quoting RubyMom0526:

Did you donate the milk to the baby that you had?

Quoting T-Rentsmommy06:

After my surrogate baby I donated milk that I pumped three times a day for a month. Looking back I wish I would have pumped longer, but I still got 473 oz of milk donated.

[1plustwinsmommy]

Curious, what type of pumps did you use? I was barely able to pump enough for my girls(I worked).