Florida Moms Donate Breast Milk to Infant

A group of Florida mothers are providing a local infant with an unusual gift: breast milk.

According to a WKMG Orlando story, a 33-year-old Central Florida woman died in her sleep in September about six weeks after giving birth to her daughter, Sara. Without a mother to breastfeed the infant, typically the child would need to rely on formula milk.

That's where Amanda Pacheco stepped in. The Casselberry, Fla.resident and recent mother knew Sara's father and wanted to pitch in after the man's wife died. She started pumping her own breast milk to give to the new baby, and posted a message about what she was doing in an online chat room. Soon, other women offered to pump and donate their milk, too.

After two weeks, nine local women had pumped more than 750 ounces of milk for the newborn baby. Typically, a newborn needs about 19 to 35 ounces of milk each day.

Before a mother can donate milk, they must be screened for HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C and HTLV to make sure no diseases are passed on to the infant. Donor moms also can't smoke or take medications and drugs.

Pacheco says the group plans to donate milk to baby Sara for about six months. After that, she says she may look into starting another organization to help other babies in similar situations.

To learn more about baby Sara's story and Pacheco's admirable efforts, check out the Get PUMPed! Web site.

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng.