The gift of mother’s milk

Ashley Bielarski’s baby is 2 years old, but Bielarski still pumps breastmilk every day. Bielarski, 32, works 12-hour shifts as a nurse at Springfield Hospital. She pumps milk during her lunch hour. She freezes whatever her baby doesn’t need and then donates it.

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The gift of mother’s milk * By KATY SAVAGE ksavage@eagletimes.com Springfield Hospital Milk Bank COURTESY SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Ashley Bielarski’s baby is 2 years old, but Bielarski still pumps breastmilk every day. Bielarski, 32, works 12-hour shifts as a nurse at Springfield Hospital. She pumps milk during her lunch hour. She freezes whatever her baby doesn’t need and then donates it. So far, Bielarski has donated more than 200 ounces of milk this year. “I don’t have a lot of money that I can donate, so it’s great that I can contribute to the world in a different way,” she said. Springfield Hospital will soon start collecting human milk. The hospital is partnering with Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast, a non-profit milk bank that provides breast milk to more than 85 hospitals in 13 states along the east coast. Mothers will be able to drop off milk at the Springfield Hospital, which will then send it to be donated. The one at Springfield Hospital will be the organization’s first milk depot in Vermont. “We know there are moms [in Vermont] that have plenty of milk,” said Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast Director of Community Relations Ann Marie Lindquist. The milk bank is headquartered just outside Boston in Newton Upper Falls. Vermont has one of the highest breastfeeding rates in the nation, behind Maine, Montana and Minnesota, according to a 2016 report from the Centers for Disease Control. About 31.3 percent of Vermont mothers exclusively breastfed their children at six months of age, according to the report. In comparison, 26.8 percent of New Hampshire mothers breastfed at six months while the national average was 22.3 percent. “I’ve always had the sense that Vermont is a very self-sufficient kind of place—fiercely independent and self-sufficient,” Lindquist said. Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast primarily serves premature babies and mothers who can’t breastfeed because they gave birth too soon or had a traumatic birth. “We’re trying to be that bridge before their own milk comes in,” Lindquist said. Human milk is said to be the “gold standard” for babies, said Lyndsy McIntyre, the director of the Childbirth Center at Springfield Hospital. It builds a healthy immune system and can be lifesaving against necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a disease that impacts one in 10 premature infants and destroys the bowel wall of an intestine. Springfield Hospital Chief of Marketing and Corporate Com-munications Anna Smith said the milk bank will provide an option for mothers who can’t breastfeed. “Sometimes it doesn’t come in the way you want it to work,” said Smith. Mothers can purchase donated milk for $3.97 an ounce from the organization. Some hospitals also provide milk for free, depending on the baby’s needs. One ounce of human milk is about three servings. “Our goal is to provide breastfeeding for anyone who wants to breastfeed,” Lindquist said. Mothers who want to donate milk have to go through a screening process, which starts with a 15-minute phone interview, followed by a blood test. Mothers must be able to donate at least 150 ounces. Their milk is shipped frozen to area hospitals after it has been screened and tested by an independent lab. A grand opening for the milk bank at Springfield Hospital with a ribbon-cutting, refreshments and information about how nursing mothers can donate milk is scheduled July 10 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the hospital Childbirth Center.