On September 16, 2016, baby Felix came bursting on the scene two weeks early, with a head full of hair and gorgeous as ever. Born at WakeMed Cary Hospital, weighing seven pounds and 11 ounces, he was everything his first-time parents could ever want, but a complication prevented them from taking him home right away. He had jaundice.

Jaundice in Newborns

Jaundice is a common condition in newborn babies that causes a yellowing of the skin and eyes. Preterm babies are at an even greater risk for becoming jaundice. Jaundice can occur when babies have a high level of bilirubin, an orange-yellow pigment. At times, treatments may be necessary to decrease jaundice such as careful observation of feeding and behavior; phototherapy, a light therapy, may also be used.

WakeMed Mothers’ Milk Bank

Mom, Lee LaPlace was very concerned about baby Felix’s condition. She felt helpless to support her son since she wasn’t producing milk yet but believed her milk could help her baby. While in recovery, the WakeMed Cary Women’s Pavilion and Birthplace team offered her and her husband the option of formula or donor milk from the WakeMed Mothers’ Milk Bank. Initially, they were undecided about receiving donor milk from people they didn’t know. Since Lee’s dad was familiar with human milk donation in his career in another state, he assured his daughter that it was a good idea, so they went for it.

“I decided I wanted breast milk over formula, especially to start.”

The LaPlace family remained in the hospital for a week as Felix’s bilirubin levels slowly came down to normal, and it was safe for them to go home.

Heading Back Full Circle for Outpatient Support

“After we left the hospital, I thought everything was fine, but it turned out my son had a milk allergy. We were supplementing my breast milk with formula, and Felix was getting sick from the formula. He was vomitting constantly and had diarrhea. He lost a bunch of weight in just one week, so we decided to go back to the milk bank and purchase milk for him.”

Felix went down to around 5 pounds in just a week’s time when they tried formula, but once he was back on donor milk, he began to gain weight and was able to keep the milk down.

Milk Bank Donors versus Breastfeeding Friend Donors

Many of Lee’s breastfeeding friends offered her their own milk free of charge, but Lee felt uncomfortable with that idea.

“I felt uneasy about it because the milk didn’t go through any process to get tested. I couldn’t be sure it was safe for my son, so I stayed with the milk bank where milk is pasteurized and processed.”

Felix and Family Today

Five years later, Lee and her familiy are now preparing to deliver their second child. She and her husband knew WakeMed Cary Hospital was a no-brainer for their delivery because of the fantastic experience they had with the entire care team in the Women’s Pavilion and Birthplace and the WakeMed Mothers’ Milk Bank. They are hopeful that Lee will have a plentiful milk supply, but if not, they hope they are eligible for donor milk.

Meanwhile, today Felix is healthy and strong. He plays sports and enjoys getting into everything like any typical five-year-old boy.

A music teacher for Wake County Public School System, Lee continues to sing the praises of the WakeMed Mothers’ Milk Bank for making all the difference for her family, especially her son.

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About the WakeMed Mothers’ Milk Bank

WakeMed Mothers’ Milk Bank is a non-profit milk bank that provides safe, pasteurized donor milk to babies in hospital NICUs in North Carolina and all along the east coast – breast milk donated by women. Donated milk goes through a sophisticated process to ensure it is safe for babies. First, a sample from each donation is sent to the lab for testing. Milk that passes this first step is pooled together from mulitple donors and homogenized several times to ensure fat is uniformly distributed. Milk is then poured into tamper evident, BPA-free bottles. The bottles are heated to 62.5°C for 30 minutes to kill viruses and bacteria. Another sample of pasteurized milk is sent back to the lab for additional testing to ensure the absence of potentially harmful bacteria. Once these rigorous steps are finished, milk is frozen and distributed to babies in need. Follow the milk to see each step in the process.

 

Source:

New Beginnings: Your Guide to Postpartum & Newborn Care. pp 20, 34.