Lactation center asks local mothers for help (Caller.com: Local News)

State's newest collection site looks for donors


The looks people give her are not flattering when she tells them she's a breast milk donor, said Barbara Scott, 31.

"People give me funny looks," Scott said. "But, it's a lot like donating blood. It's foreign if you're not used to it. There are a lot of people that don't know about it. They think it's strange."

But moms like Scott are not uncommon, said Kim Updegrove, clinical coordinator of the Mother's Milk Bank at Austin. In 2005, there were 327 donors approved to donate their breast milk.

Driscoll Children's Hospital officials are hoping to add more donor moms.

The hospital's lactation center, Mom's Place, became the state's newest breast milk collection site last week, said Laurie Beck, Driscoll's lactation program coordinator. There are nine other sites, including San Antonio, Houston and Fort Worth, Updegrove said.

"Donors have an easier time donating their milk, and it takes the burden off the mom," Updegrove said.

Before, donors would have to send their milk overnight on dry ice to Austin; now they can drop it off and have Driscoll pay the postage, Updegrove said.

Donated milk goes to a variety of babies, some who have been adopted, whose mothers have died, can't for medical reasons or find it difficult, Beck said.

Scott said she was encouraged to donate after reading an article about a breast cancer survivor who had a double mastectomy.


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