b'like a mother possessed. Katie greets me at the door, babe in arms and welcomes me warmly to her home. I feel safe and cared for and the fear melts away. Thats the thing about fear; its hard to feel it when youre up close. And so my liquid gold (donor milk) journey begins. My network of mamas starts small, but before long I find myself travelling all over Melbourne in a search for breastmilk to satisfy my rapidly-weight-gaining babys insatiable appetite. With that pressure off, I can also feel my body relaxing into breastfeeding. Its still not easy but its a hell of a lot easier than it was.**I post a request for milk on my local Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) Facebook group and have several mums offer to pump regularly for me. (We need to take a moment to appreciate how massive a gift this is. Pumping is not the leisurely activity that movies make it out to be. It can be boring, inconvenient and, sometimes, even painful. Thats why donating breastmilk is a special kind of altruism.) Before long I receive a reply from Sharon, A mum at our meeting today is happy to donate to you. She has a massive supply. I will send you her details. And thats how I met Trish. Shes not only provided my baby with life-sustaining breastmilk, but she has also helped me navigate the early stages of motherhood with her non-judgmental ear, reassuring words and bottomless cups of tea. Theres an old adage that says it takes a village to raise a child. Nowhere is the breakdown of the village more obvious ** than in breastfeeding. Breastfeeding demands so much of you as a new mum. Meeting that demand can be near impossible without support and encouragement around Donor milk the clock. Organisations like the Australian Breastfeeding Association and Human Milk 4 Human Babies are doing their The Australian Breastfeeding Association supports andbest to reconstruct the village. Without them, I couldnt have encourages the establishment of human milk banks in linedone this. with the WHO/UNICEF Declaration of 1980: Where it is not possible for the biological mother to breastfeed, the firstMy son has now received milk from over 30 mothers. Think alternative, if available, should be the use of human milkof all the microbiomes his gut has been exposed to! from other sources. Human milk banks should be made available in appropriate situations. The Association isThe biggest of thankyous go to my amazing regular donor committed to supporting women to breastfeed their babies,mumsNisa, Olivia, Trish and Jade. and to provide information and support to enable this. The Association believes that a mothers own milk is the idealAnd to the many other mums who have helped my bub food for her baby and child and, with the right informationnearly crack the 10 kg markJenni, Jodie, Jessica, Kim, and support, most mothers can produce enough breastmilkMandira, Georgina, Erica, Kathryn, Rohini, Amy, Lisa P, Lisa G, for their babies.Kimberley, Stella, Zoe, Irene, Natasha, Rachael, Cj, Melanie, Elizabeth, Kylie, Katie, Sophia, Marcelina, Harriet, Anna and In cases where mothers do not have enough breastmilk toMarijn.nourish their babies, or where breastfeeding is not possible, the Association believes that human milk from anotherI almost didnt tell this story. I have been hiding woman is the next best alternative, and supports womenembarrassment about needing support from so many people to make informed choices about the available alternatives,and probably a bit of internalised shame from the stigma of including donor milk. The Association recognises that somepublicly talking about breastfeeding. But a recent experience mothers will choose to source human milk from privatechanged me. I went to pick up milk from a gorgeous mum donors. The Association strongly encourages mothers towhose baby boy Boet was born prematurely and, after a ensure that they are well informed of the potential risks andlong but brave fight in hospital, passed away. She said that it benefits of donated human milk and methods available forhelped her to know that his milk was helping so many other minimising risks, and to make decisions based on their ownbabies live. I share this story in his memory, which lives on in individual circumstances. The Association does not directlymy son.facilitate private milk sharing by making its resources available to link private donors and recipients, and accepts no responsibility for expressed breastmilk donated by its members. Association members who donate expressed breastmilk do so as breastfeeding mothers, and not on behalf of the Association. The complete ABA Position Statement on Donor Milk can be found on the ABA website.December 2019 A ustralian Breastfeeding Association | Essence |19'