DAYTON, Ohio — A new drop-off site is making it easier for moms across the state to help babies get the breast milk they desperately need. It's the second location to open in southwest Ohio for OhioHealth's Mothers' Milk Bank.
What You Need To Know
- The second donation site in southwest Ohio for OhioHealth's Mothers' Milk Bank opened at Southview Medical Center
- Once the milk is donated, it is shipped to Columbus to be pasteurized then sent out around the state and across the Midwest
- The donated milk is prioritized to premature and sick babies in the hospital
- To become a milk donor, you must submit paperwork with your medical history and complete blood work
Breanna Myers is ready to take a load off — 200 ounces to be exact. The mother of 5-month-old Evie said she realized she had a surplus of breast milk and didn’t want it to go to waste, and being a NICU nurse herself, she knew how impactful it could be on babies that really need it.
“For me to actually be able to see that it does go to really good use, it was really important to me and it feels good to hand it over," Myers said. "Not just because I have a ton at home, so I’m making my husband happy by not having more and more milk in the freezer, but also knowing that it’s going to such a good cause.”
At Southview Medical Center just south of Dayton, they saw an increased need for moms to donate breast milk. Which is why OhioHealth’s Mothers’ Milk Bank decided to create a drop-off site there — the only one in southwest Ohio besides Dayton Children’s Hospital.
“It’s a lot of work to pump all that milk to donate it, so we don’t want mothers to have to make that trek all the way across Ohio," Registered Nurse and lactation consultant Katy Boyd said. "So if they can drop off here, we are more than willing to go out to their car to pick it up.”
For Myers, she’s the first to donate at the new site.
“This is only my second donation," she said. "I donated 196 ounces last month at Dayton Children’s.”
Lactation consultants said if mothers are starting to stockpile breast milk in deep freezers, they most likely have a surplus that can be donated, and that’s exactly what Myers did.
“This will bring me down to like 800 ounces, so still quite a bit," Myers said.
That milk is then brought to Columbus to be pasteurized and sent out across the state and around the Midwest. The milk bank estimates that just one ounce of donated milk can feed a premature baby for three days.
And for Myers, she knows she still has plenty at home for her little girl and enough to share with those that need it the most.
“Knowing that it’s going to such a good cause, rather than sitting in my freezer," Myers said. "That may mean that I have to pump breast milk a little bit longer to make it to my goal, but that’s fine with me knowing that it’s going to such an amazing cause.”