A first-time mother has thanked strangers for donating their breast milk – after launching an appeal on Facebook because she was struggling to feed her baby son.
Lauren Roberts, 35, from Twickenham, London, decided to turn to other mothers for help after being unable to produce enough of her own breast milk following the birth of Leo, now seven months old.
She now uses a combination of milk formula, her own breast milk and milk from Facebook donors to feed her son.
Despite there being risk of diseases being passed on through breast milk, Lauren and her husband Nick, 33, say they want to raise awareness about human milk donors and the benefits it can have.
Explaining her decision to launch an online appeal, Lauren, a full-time mother, said: ‘I struggled to breast feed Leo from the moment he was born last August 23.
‘Leo wasn’t latching on properly and I wasn’t producing enough milk to feed him as often as he needed.
‘Three weeks after his birth my friend recommended I looked on Facebook as there were groups for mums who donated their breast milk.
‘After posting an appeal for breast milk on the page I was over the moon when someone from my area replied stating she had some available.
‘We met up and after seeing her blood test results – which were all clear – I felt comfortable feeding Leo with her breast milk.’
Lauren says she is happy that he is benefiting from having human breast milk, even though she has struggled to feed him herself.
‘He loves breast milk in a bottle and it definitely makes me feel more comfortable knowing he’s getting human breast milk than that of a cow,’ she said.
‘In total I’ve fed Leo with the breast milk of five different women, all of whom I’ve met, and two became regular donors, the other three having a freezer stash of milk available for one-off collection.’
‘I have driven as far as two hours each way to collect breast milk for Leo across the country.
‘I have decided to trust other mums and despite the risks of HIV, and other diseases being passed on within breast milk, I have taken that small risk to try and ensure Leo gets the best possible start in life.
‘As it’s all done through Facebook it does feel very underground when it shouldn’t, it would be great if a website whereby people are regulated could be set up.’
Leo is now seven months old and will soon be weaned off breast milk but Lauren’s experience with breast milk donors has been so positive that she says she will do it again when she’s ready for her second child.
I’ve had a great experience with sharing breast milk from other mums, some people think it’s strange but I think that’s just because it’s not something we’ve been brought up to see as normal,’ she said.
‘Nick thought it was bizarre before I explained the benefits and that some women overproduced so it would only go to waste.
‘I will start collecting breast milk from donors when I’m pregnant next time so I am prepared.
‘I hope other people reading my story realise that sharing human breast milk is actually more beneficial than relying on that from another species. Multiple scientific studies have shown the positive impact of breastmilk on a baby’s development even many years into the future.
‘A few of the other known benefits are it’s easier to digest then formula, reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, lowers the risk of them developing allergies and gives the baby anti bodies to fight off common illnesses.’
Lauren said she managed even to get breast milk from strangers while on a recent holiday in Australia.
‘I even went on holiday to Australia two weeks ago and managed to meet up with two breast milk donors there as they also have a human breast milk Facebook page for mums,’ she said.
‘There’s so many lovely mums online who just want to help and after using Facebook for seven months to help feed Leo, I would definitely recommend it.’
