Kim tells her amazing story
Mum Kim received donor breast milk from the Hearts Milk Bank following her baby’s battle to survive in lockdown. Here are her words about her experience:
When I lost my uncle to Coronavirus, I became terrified of the thought of giving birth in a hospital and decided to have a home birth. My labour was slow to progress but I was comfortable and felt safe at home. This was until my baby had a bowel movement before being born. I was rushed to hospital and my little boy, Indigo, was seriously unwell with Meconium Aspiration Syndrome. It was heartbreaking to see him fighting for his life. I was only able to hold him once during this entire time and I couldn’t breastfeed him at all.
After three weeks of him being wired up to machines in hospital and fed through a syringe, he was finally strong enough for us to take him home. I was desperate to breastfeed and give him the strength and immunity he needed through my own milk. I’d been breast pumping to help increase my supply while Indigo was recovering but I just wasn’t producing enough milk. Indigo couldn’t stomach formula and he was starting to lose weight quickly.
My midwife mentioned donor milk and this is when we found The Hearts Milk Bank. We received our first delivery of donor milk a matter of days later and it was a game changer. It gave me time for my milk supply to build up and gave Indigo the strength he needed to get through those difficult first few weeks.
