Donor Stories
Quick facts:
“My husband, Andrew, and I live in Michigan with our daughter, Sophie, 11 months. Andrew and I met at work and are still with the same company 6 years later; he’s in social media, and I’m in human resources. I love spending time outside in my garden and getting froyo with my family.
I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a mom. In my 20s, I encountered fertility challenges and was told I may not be able to conceive. I was devastated. After 5 years of enduring treatments, trials, and stress, we found out I was pregnant! Sophie was born and is the light of our lives.
Once I noticed that I was an overproducer, I started doing research and found Prolacta Bioscience. I realized that I could not only feed my daughter but others who need it as well! For me, donating is like feeding the big family I always thought I’d have. Knowing that other families are watching their babies grow as a result of my milk gives me the chills! It’s so humbling to know that what I’m doing is literally helping to grow other humans.
Providing Sophie with the benefits of fresh breast milk has also been a rewarding aspect of my journey. My goal is to provide her with fresh milk until she’s at least 18 months old. So, 18 months is also my pumping goal! Donating has also been rewarding from a financial standpoint, as it has helped us pay off medical expenses from our fertility treatments. We hope to have our debts paid off by the end of my donation journey.
The biggest challenges throughout my donation journey have been sticking to a schedule and avoiding mastitis (or clogged ducts). It is difficult to manage being a new mom, feeding Sophie, and keeping her on some sort of schedule, as well as ensuring that I’m taking care of myself.
My advice to new donors: Get sized for the proper flange fit, it’s so important! Pumping with the wrong sized flanges can damage your nipples and may cause you not to empty all the way. Also, be sure to get a good pumping schedule down.”