Last week I decided that I wanted to donate my breast milk – yes, you can donate human breast milk. I had been pumping excess milk for a couple of months, storing it in the fridge and trying to give it to my daughter in a bottle but she was not interested so ultimately she ended up bathing in it! Now, whilst its fabulous for her skin there are much better uses for it. So after a quick discussion with my 3 month old she decided that she was more than happy to share her food with tiny babies who needed breast milk to grow big and strong like her. I called the nearest Milk Bank and signed up!

For those of you who have never heard of it – premature and sick babies need human breast milk to survive. They have yet to find a formula that is suitable for babies in NICU’s all around the world.

I was thrilled to receive my sterile bottles in the post yesterday and I have already pumped my first bottle!

The tubes there are for the blood tests which are required as part of the donor screening.

I could have dealt with my oversupply issues using various breastfeeding techniques but instead I am celebrating the gift of extra milk and giving it to those who need it. I can only donate until my daughter is a year old so I have a limited time of giving those tiny babies the opportunity to grow big and strong.

Milk banks all over the world have a huge shortage of milk – please consider donating if you can. Every drop counts.

For more information on milk donation click here

For those in France who are interested in donating their breast milk here are a list of lactariums

http://www.perinat-france.org/guide/adlf-association-des-lactariums-de-france-16-37-178-0-163.html