Photo by Maddy Williams
Story by Maddy Williams
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After the birth of her son, Ashley Hoskins donated thousands of ounces of milk—to other babies.
She delivered her son prematurely, causing a pair of extended stays in the NICU. Hoskins couldn’t breastfeed because her body had not begun to produce milk. Instead, she relied on the donations of others.
To return the favor, after her body started lactating, “she pumped around the clock for over a year,” said Amy Painter, marketing director for Mother’s Milk Bank of Tennessee.
She’s one of the 307 approved milk donors from 2023.
Tennessee’s infant mortality rate ranks 14th highest in the nation with one in nine babies born preterm, according to the Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee 2023 Annual Report. Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee hopes to reduce this statistic by offering mothers with babies in the NICU a chance to use donor breast milk to nourish their child.
Using only human breast milk to feed preterm and low birth weight infants reduces mortality by 75%, according to the Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee 2023 Annual Report.
Providing mothers who cannot lactate another option
Susan Campbell, executive director and co-founder, opened the milk bank in 2021 after being motivated by her research on breast milk’s positive effects on premature baby outcomes. She formally worked for 33 years in Middle Tennessee as a neonatologist, a pediatrician who specializes in taking care of babies in the NICU. In 2010, she joined the Tennessee Initiative for Perinatal Quality Care, which works to improve baby and mother birth outcomes.
“There was a flurry of articles coming in across the whole country showing that tiny premature babies if they could be given an exclusive human milk diet, were at much, much less risk of a terrible intestinal problem called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC),” Campbell said.
A high percentage of mothers who give birth prematurely face lactation issues. For example, a mother being on medication for high blood pressure during pregnancy may struggle to lactate, she said.
If mothers cannot pump, donor breast milk would be the next best option, she said.
Ashlyn Kotonias represents one mother who used donor breast milk while her child stayed in the NICU. She didn’t use Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee because she lives in Texas, but her experience speaks to the benefits of using donor milk.
“I had issues with my milk production and never had enough to give for his feeds, so being able to still give Ian breastmilk really put my mind at ease, even though it wasn’t my own,” Kotonias said. “That isn’t to say that formula is inherently bad because it isn’t. Ian’s been on formula in some amount since he was 2 weeks old, but I really wanted him to have as much breastmilk as he could, and this was the best option given our circumstances.”
Getting the donor milk didn’t add any extra stress post-birth, Kotonias said. She wanted to feed her baby with human milk after birth, and even though she couldn’t do this naturally, the donor milk allowed her to have the same benefits for her child.
“I wanted Ian to have the full experience of being created from scratch within my womb but also to receive the benefits of being sustained by another human being’s creation,” Kotonias said.
Receiving donor milk helps to lessen the stress on mothers struggling to lactate without them having to use formula.
If Kotonias had to grapple with not being able to breastfeed and not having access to donor breast milk, it might’ve fueled postpartum depression, she said.
“It was a tough pill to swallow when I couldn’t provide much from my own body, but I fully embraced the ‘something is better than nothing mentality,’” Kotonias said. “It’s also a testament to the human body’s capabilities by being able to sustain someone else’s baby despite not having any relation to the baby the milk is going to.”
Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee becomes the 31st milk bank in North America
Prior to the 1980s AIDS epidemic, all but five milk banks closed. People no longer trusted donor milk to be free from disease.
“Those five got together in the mid 80s, and organized what’s called what is today called the Human Milk Banking Association of North America,” Campbell said.
Nonprofit milk banks, such as Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee, use drug history and current medications to determine if the mother can donate breast milk, Campbell said.
Mothers with an excess frozen milk supply can donate it to the milk bank.
When sorting through donor applications, the milk bank looks for mothers taking blood pressure or diabetes medications. These medications prevent women from donating to ensure the babies in the NICU don’t drop blood pressure or blood sugar, she said.
In 2010, a neonatologist from Memphis wanted to see if breastfed preterm babies would have a better survival rate. He “started a program where all he did was get pumps for moms to pump their milk in when they were visiting in the NICU,” Campbell said.
This led to healthier babies but didn’t solve the issue of mothers who couldn’t lactate.
Campbell and her husband applied to open a milk bank in Tennessee, but Memphis beat them to it three months earlier. They then started collaborating with the people in Memphis from 2014 to 2021 when the milk bank first opened its doors in Murfreesboro.
Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee became the 31st milk bank, increasing the number of milk banks from the five that were left standing in the 80s.
Murfreesboro’s centralized location allows for Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee to service 16 hospitals across the state. Chattanooga, Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville represent a few of the cities served. One Kentucky hospital also received donor milk.
“We are here for the whole state,” Campbell said.
The donation process
The milk bank provides a lactation consultant on site to help mothers struggling to lactate.
“We try to service all the needs across the spectrum with breastfeeding,” Campbell said.
Ten freezers, two large refrigerators, pasteurizers and backup generators run at all times at the milk bank, Campbell said.
Donors can drop off milk at any of the milk depots near them.
“If a mother is thinking about donating, my advice is to wholeheartedly do it,” Kotonias said. “There are so many children who can benefit from it, and it can provide such a great stress relief for parents who want their babies to reap the benefits of breastmilk.”
Campbell hopes to eventually launch a home market for women at home who need breast milk within the next few years, but meeting the needs of the NICUs around Tennessee comes first.
Painter started out as a donor in 2021. She began volunteering at the milk bank before becoming a consultant. Then, she landed a job at the milk bank in marketing.
She manages all outward communication for the milk bank: social media, press releases, statistics, donor applications and communicating with donors.
She recently helped launch a text campaign to message mothers directly.
Pre-screenings must be completed before the blood tests for the mothers wishing to donate. Previously, this was done over the phone. Painter helped put into place a pre-screening application online to save mothers the hassle of trying to pick up a phone call while working and raising kids. If they can move forward with the donation, they then schedule a call with a screener.
“I was fortunate to have that experience as a donor where we could adjust our marketing to meet the needs of our donors,” Painter said.
Painter’s friend and former colleague recently donated her milk.
“Her niece was born at 24 weeks and received donor milk in the NICU,” Painter said. “And that was part that was the main reason why she wanted to become a milk donor. She kind of wanted to help repay that favor.”
Many moms who received milk in the NICU could lactate later, which led them to donate.
With Tennessee having the 11th highest preterm birth rate in the nation, according to the Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee 2023 Annual Report, milk banks are crucial in serving mothers who can’t breastfeed and wish to use human milk.
“The benefits spoke for themselves,” Kotonias said.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell and Assistant Lifestyles Editor Shamani Salahuddin, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, or follow us on Instagram at MTSUSidelines or on X at @MTSUSidelines.
