Shortly after Brooke Spitale gave birth to her daughter Naomi last June, she began expressing milk in preparation for returning to work full time.
“I discovered I’m a huge overproducer,” she said. “A month and a half into my breast feeding/pumping journey, I discovered I had way too much milk for my daughter.”
An associate nurse with University of Chicago Medicine’s department of endocrinology, Spitale, of Hammond, Indiana, realized the value of human breast milk, especially for helping premature and high-risk infants as well as infants who are adopted. So, she began freezing and storing her excess milk.
Spitale and her husband own a deep freezer in addition to a refrigerator/freezer, but before long, she said, “I was running out of room for food!”
After seeing an online video about women who were pumping breast milk and donating it through the Mother’s Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes, Spitale began searching for a donation center.
The milk bank provides pasteurized human milk to premature and critically ill babies, helps support moms who donate milk after loss, and distributes reduced cost or free donor milk to chronically ill middle and low-income children. Drop-off and distribution centers are located throughout Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
For Spitale, the closest drop-off point in Indiana was 50 miles away, so she expanded her search to Illinois. That’s when she located Franciscan Health Family Birth Center in Olympia Fields.
The drive was only 25 minutes from Spitale’s house. Of her first milk delivery, she said, “The lactation specialist was in tears and shocked at how much milk I was able to produce.”
Franciscan Health certified lactation consultant and registered nurse Ann Mitchell confirmed this.
“She’s our No. 1 donor,” Mitchell said. “With one drop off, she gave us 35 liters. That filled up one freezer.”
Spitale had pumped the milk over a period of several weeks. For storing it, she used 6-ounce plastic bags provided by the milk bank, dating the bags and labeling them with her assigned donor number. She then delivered the frozen milk packets in a cooler, packed in layers of ice.
“Keeping the milk frozen can be tricky, so you need lots of ice,” she said.
Mitchell said donors generally stop donating after six months, when their babies begin eating solid foods. This causes fluctuations in the number of donors dropping off milk at the Franciscan Health Family Birth Center.
“We have from four to 10,” Mitchell said.
Most of the donors are patients served by the center. Many also happen to be abundant milk producers and even nurses, like Spitale. But some have lost their babies in the late stages of pregnancy when their bodies were gearing up for lactation.
“For those who have lost babies, this can help them heal emotionally because they know they are helping other babies to live,” Mitchell said.
In Chicago’s South Suburbs, Advocate Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn also accepts donations of milk, according to the Mother’s Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes website which lists drop-off locations.
But before any lactating mother can begin donating milk, she must undergo a rigorous screening process that requires providing blood samples and answering a myriad health-related questions.
Spitale answered questions concerning her pregnancy, prescribed medications, use of nonprescription medications, whether or not she smoked or drank alcohol, whether or not she had any autoimmune disorders, whether she had any infections requiring antibiotics. She also answered questions relating to her own medical history and her daughter’s health.
“They also wanted to know what my job was, if there was any exposure to blood born illnesses like hepatitis or HIV, any needle sticks,” Spitale said.
That turned out to be the case. “I got poked with a needle at work, and there was a waiting period before any of my milk could be used.”
Thanks to a temporary donor number, she was able to continue donating milk, which was stored for later use. Fortunately for many babies, Spitale got the all-clear and the milk was used.
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One of the most gratifying aspects of breast feeding Spitale said, was knowing she was giving her daughter the best start possible by passing on immunity and essential nutrition. “But I also like the idea that I was able to help other babies,” she said.
Spitale also contributed to knowledge about breast milk.
“Some of the donated milk is used for research,” Mitchell said. “These donations are important in many ways.”
Teaching new mothers about breast feeding and pumping is part of the birthing center’s prenatal education effort. “It’s the feeding and pumping that stimulates production,” Mitchell said.
After delivery, breastfeeding mothers can email or call Mitchell as questions arise. They also have access to a monthly virtual support group.
Due to its support for breastfeeding, the Franciscan Health Family Birth Center earned an international Baby-Friendly designation in 2019 after a rigorous review process conducted by Baby-Friendly USA.
In keeping with that designation, Mitchell strives to make women aware of the benefits of breast feeding over formula use.
“One mother said she was going to go with formula,” Mitchell said. “I gave her the information about breast feeding because I can’t tell her what to do. But once she realized the benefits, she called me back and insisted, ‘I want to do this.'”
While most of the benefits support healthier babies, some relate to comfort and convenience.
“Breastfed babies don’t end up with all the bubbles that come with bottle feeding, so they don’t cry as much,” Mitchell said. “Plus, you don’t have to get up and mix formula in the middle of the night.”
Working mothers need to be able to express milk every three hours or so, to keep in sync with their child’s feeding schedule and to maintain milk production, Mitchell said, adding that employers can support women by setting aside private spaces for this purpose, also known as “pumping pods.”
“If more people knew all the benefits of breast feeding, more women would do this,” Mitchell said. “One reason moms don’t want to breast feed is they don’t know there’s help. But we tell them, ‘You can do this, it’s easy.'”
Susan DeGrane is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.