Redditch Mum donates 60 liters to Birmingham Women’s Milk Bank

A REDDITCH mum has donated 60 liters of breast milk to the Milk Bank at Birmingham Women’s Hospital since she started donating at the end of February.

The hospital’s Human Milk Bank is the only one in the West Midlands, supplying donor breast milk to newborns at Women’s, as well as other hospitals in the region and beyond.

Mum Jodie Street has been donating milk to the bank since she had her second child and wanted to donate to help other babies and families.

She said: “Although I am a premature baby, I have never heard of human milk donors before.

“I first became aware of milk banks a few years ago when I read a very inspiring article about someone who donated their milk.

“There was talk about the benefits of donor milk on very sick and premature babies and I knew it was something I wanted to do in the future.

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“My second child was born in January and I express milk exclusively for her, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to properly look into donation.

“Since becoming a donor and raising awareness on social media, so many people have reached out to me to say how amazing it is and that they’re also surprised they’ve never heard of it.”

Donor breast milk can also be offered to support mothers who are still establishing their own milk supply or cannot.

For Jodie, this was a big motivation for when she decided to donate.

She said: “I regularly donate blood and try to volunteer and help wherever I can, so the most rewarding thing is just knowing it’s going to reach babies who need it.”

Jodie has spoken to friends and family about donating and is encouraging others to try donating too.

During April, the Milk Bank provided 35 liters of donor breast milk to the Women’s Neonatal Unit and 46 liters were sent to other Neonatal Units in England and Wales.