We have been putting off this donation run for ages because we have been too lazy to drive over and bring our milk stash, or call the hospital for pick-up. But we finally did it last wednesday, mainly because we had to temporarily evacuate the house to make way for a 2-day termite fumigation.
Not a lot of people know that you can donate breastmilk. I only found out myself because I was googling what to do with my extra breastmilk. But as soon as I figured Inno's cycle and my pumping output, I started donating. I donated because I want to be able to help other babies have a shot at life. Giving birth to your first child really does open up your eyes and expand your feelings of empathy for those who are less fortunate.
How did you get so much milk?
A lot of moms out there have a great supply of milk. Their pumping output is really outrageous! If you search online, there are a lot of different tricks to increase breast milk supply - food diet, pumping timing, pumping practices, etc.
In my opinion, my supply is only sufficient enough for my Inno. I wasn't able to fill bags and bags of milk with every pumping session. I even had to pump longer at work just to make sure I had enough milk pumped to build up my milk stash. I was constantly worried I might run out - especially between the 4th and 7th months.
Miraculously, however, around Inno's 10th month, he started rejecting drinking expressed milk. He would not take milk from a bottle, nor from a small glass, despite whatever his yaya and his dad did. He only wanted to drink milk directly from the breast.
Since I was still working, and still worrying about milk supply, I continued my regular pumping schedule at work. This is where the milk that I donate come from.
Out of all the advise I've read, and observed, though, is that you can encourage oversupply through pumping by starting to pump milk early. I have noticed that some of my friends who had to rely on pumping almost as soon as they gave birth seem to have more milk than I do.
How much milk should you donate?
There's no limit to how much milk you can donate. You can donate all of your expressed milk, if you like!
What I did, however, was keep a stash of around 64oz of milk. All of my milk stash above that is donated. This is because I wanted to keep some emergency milk for Inno in stock in case we had to be separated, in case I will be restricted from feeding him because of illness, or in case he suddenly decides to switch back to milk.
Where can you donate milk?
You can donate milk in two ways:
1. Direct to the baby in need of breastmilk
There are several facebook groups that cater to breastmilk donation, or you can also ask around in your neighbourhood.
I can't remember the facebook groups I visited anymore, so I cannot recommend any. If anybody here is reading this and want to share, please share your FB groups in the comments section and I will add them here.
I do remember that when I did look for groups, majority of those asking for donations were too far from me. That's why I chose a different method.
2. Through a milk bank
A milk bank is a good way to make sure your breastmilk goes to the babies we know need it the most. But not everybody is comfortable with going through institutions for their charitable endeavors.
From my research, there are several milk banks here in the Philippines. I was looking for a good place to donate my breastmilk and I finally found that Philippine Children's Medical Center has a milk bank! A lot of the articles and recommendations I've read recommended donating to the Philippine General Hospital because they have a pasteurizer, but I found it too far. PCMC is just along Quezon Avenue and was on the way to my office, so it was just right.They also had a pasteurizer!
Philippine Children's Medical Center also accommodates pick-up of your milk donations, if you don't have the time or means to go to the center. Here's the contact details for those who are interested:
Telephone: 588-9900 local 288
Contact Persons: Ms. Rose or Ms. Cecilia
Working Hours:
8:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday
I might go through some research again and make an updated compilation of milk banks and breastmilk donation centers. In the meantime, please spread the word and help promote breastfeeding!
