New Mother Saves Lives Thanks To Rare Medical Condition After Birth Of First Child

Whenever someone becomes a parent for the first time, they are bound to have fears and concerns. Will my child be healthy? Will we bond well? Will I be a good mother?

When one woman was expecting her first child, she was no different from any other expectant mother. But after her daughter was born, she would find out that she was, in fact, very different from most mothers...

The Importance of Feeding

When Elisabeth Anderson-Sierra was pregnant with her first child, she learned that breastfeeding is one of the most important things a mother can do to promote the health of her child. When compared to formula, breast milk is so much more beneficial. Most medical associations recommend that mothers breastfeed exclusively for the first six months after giving birth.

Worried About the Process

But like many new mothers, she had concerns. Breastfeeding can be tricky and as many as two-thirds of new mothers have some trouble breastfeeding. Most women are physically able to produce enough milk for their babies but what if she wasn't one of them?

Rough Labor

Thirty-seven weeks into her pregnancy, Elisabeth went into labor. After 30 grueling hours, her daughter Isabella was born. She was a healthy, beautiful child and Elisabeth and her husband David couldn't have been happier.

Exhausted

But because her labor had been so difficult, Elisabeth's body was completely worn out. She was completely unable to breastfeed her daughter for the first 24 hours after she was born, which did nothing to allay her fears around producing milk…

Unable to Feed

"My body was just exhausted so she had to have donor milk for the first couple of feedings," Elisabeth said. That donor milk proved to be crucial, especially because it was so early in her child's development.

Doing Better

Thankfully, Elisabeth began producing enough milk for her daughter the next day and she had no further problems with breastfeeding. In fact, it seemed as though Elisabeth was producing more milk than Isabella needed – a lot more…

Overproduction

When Isabella was six months old, she was consuming about 20 to 30 ounces of milk a day. "I produce about 70 to 80 ounces of milk during my first pump alone," Elisabeth said. "My breasts wake me up in the morning because they're screaming 'please do something about this.'"

Even More

With that first pump of the day, Elisabeth was just warming up. "I pump 5 times a day – as soon as I wake up, after breakfast, after lunch, after dinner, and again at midnight." Obviously, her milk production wasn't normal. Elisabeth was later diagnosed with a condition called "hyper lactation."

Not a Danger

There are no major health problems with hyper lactation, Elisabeth was just making way too much milk for her needs. In fact, she was producing far more than most women with hyper lactation usually do. When she was trying to determine what to do with her excess milk, her thoughts went back to that first day after Isabella was born.

Giving Back

She'd gotten that crucial milk from the donor to help her out and she wanted to help others in the same way. Elisabeth wanted to donate her milk but she had concerns. "What if I gave away all my milk and something happened to me to where I then dried up and couldn't feed my own baby?" she wondered.

Horror Stories

"I'd hear horror stories about that happening to mothers all the time! I'd be the one in the position that I'd be desperate to find donor milk," Elisabeth said. "I eventually got over it and kept donating everything I had on hand. It makes me feel like I am giving back to my community and I'm participating in humanity."

Community Service

"I think that everybody should, in order to have that sense of community, be active in their community," Elisabeth said. "This is what I do. This is the gift I've been given. This is the gift that I can share." She started donating all of her excess milk to mothers in need…

Full-time Hours

Once Elisabeth made her decision, she went forward with it completely. "In total, I will spend around 5 hours a day just pumping and then storing, labeling, sterilizing, etc. I spend 8 to 10 hours," she said. "Pumping is not fun – it is uncomfortable and it hurts – but it is my labor of love."

Instant Gratification

"I've not had a day off in two-and-a-half years. It's more than a full-time job," Elisabeth said. "It is instant gratification when I donate locally because I see the babies and I see them thriving." And thanks to her efforts, a lot of babies thrived…

Ramping Up

About two-and-a-half years after Isabella was born, Elisabeth gave birth to her second child, Sophia. When that happened, "my supply ramped up," she said. Elisabeth now pumps around 1.75 gallons of milk each day. She's donated over 600 gallons of milk to help others, and not without considerable cost.

Sistine Chapel

"When I first started it was very, very hard, mostly because there is really no price on it and all the blood, sweat and tears that go into making it," Elisabeth said. It was like giving away a portion of the paintings on the Sistine Chapel … priceless and hours of work."

Breaking Even

Although Elisabeth gets reimbursed about a dollar an ounce for each donation given to milk banks, she spends just about every dollar buying pumps, sanitation kits, and the two freezers she needed to store her milk, not to mention the extra food she has to eat. She barely breaks even on the costs, but it's definitely worth it to her.

Saving Lives

Elisabeth's donations "have helped thousands of children. The milk at the milk bank goes to micro preemies, so just 1 fluid ounce can feed 3 or 4 babies," she said. It would be impossible to tell exactly how many lives she's saved…

Making Use Of My Gift

"I would imagine it feels the same for somebody that donates a kidney," Elisabeth said. "That same feeling that you have just given somebody else a second chance at life. ... But I only have one kidney and I have lots of breastmilk to give."

Do What You Can

Elisabeth has advice for other mothers who produce an excess of milk. "I would encourage other moms to reach out to their own community and consider donating," she said. "Breast milk is like liquid gold – it should never be thrown away. And there is a high need for it out there."

Olivia Thompson

I'm Olivia, your guide through the digital jungle, sharing the best tips and tools to find anything online.

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