Katie Garza, an MMBA milk donor,
ambassador, and Mrs. United States 2015, shares her very moving story and
explains why she is dedicating her year to promoting milk banking and
fundraising for the Mothers' Milk Bank at Austin's Charitable Care Program.
As Mothers, our natural instinct is
to nurture and protect all babies, not just our own. Every donor Mom has an
incredible story behind what motivates her to donate, because let me tell you,
pumping around the clock is no walk in the park. This is my story:
At 30 weeks pregnant with my first
child, I awoke in screaming pain. I was told that it was labor, and thankfully
the doctors were able to stop the contractions. After three weeks of bed rest
and constant labor, Phoenix Madilyn would wait no more. Delivery was the scariest moment of my life.
We had no idea what to expect or whether our girl would make it. She was born
crying, and for a moment I cried tears of joy. Within minutes the crying
stopped, and the doctors spoke in hushed voices while my tears of joy turned to
heartbreak. She wasn't breathing on her own.
Within her first hours of life my
teeny baby went from the comfort and security of the womb to being intubated
and life flighted to Texas Children's level 3 NICU. I couldn't touch her. I couldn't hold her.
And like most NICU Moms, I couldn't provide her with the milk she needed
despite every effort.
During the hours spent in the NICU,
we got to know the nurses and fell in love with her baby buddies. We were
filled with joy at the successes, and heartbreak when things went wrong.
Phoenix was 4lbs 4oz - huge compared to the rest of the babies in her pod. Some
babies had Mommy with them around the clock, while other babies were alone.
Having an infant in the NICU can cause post-traumatic stress and there are many
things to be said on this topic, but I will save that for another story.
Breast milk is the single most
powerful medicine a medically fragile infant can receive. Not only is it
superior nutrition, it also has healing power. Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC)
is the leading cause of death in preterm infants, and can be preventable with
breast milk. If the Mother’s milk is not available, human donor breast milk is
the next best thing. I wish I had known of this option. Maybe if Phoenix and
the other babies received donor milk they would have been more comfortable,
grew stronger, and came home sooner.
During our time in the NICU, I
desperately needed to help my baby and the babies around her. There was nothing
that I could do at that time, but now there is. Phoenix is now a healthy six
year old with a brand new baby sister, Aubrey.
I started pumping as soon as Aubrey was born with a goal to strengthen
my supply and donate to NICU babies. These babies can only receive breast milk from
a milk bank, so I chose to donate to my local non-profit HMBANA milk bank, the
Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin.
More importantly, I want to make
sure that the families whose babies have a medical need to receive my donor
milk never have to pay for it if they cannot afford it. So I fundraise to
ensure that every baby receives breast milk at no cost to them, regardless of
their insurance coverage through Charitable Care.
I also want to make sure that Moms
KNOW about donor breast milk, because so many simply aren't aware (like
myself). We are now working on an
outreach and education program to touch every NICU Mom nationwide.
The taller my soap box, the farther
our voices can be heard! As Mrs. United States my soap box is huge, and is
opening doors to help get the message out for our preemies. The goal is to get
more milk to more babies, and I am out there pounding the pavement, crown in
hand (with pump breaks every 3 hours:).
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