Human breast milk is packed with nutrients, including proteins, antibodies, vitamins and minerals. But some postpartum women struggle to produce enough of it. Others make more milk than their baby needs. Enter donor milk centers — places that accept excess milk from lactating women, send it to regional milk banks to be processed, then distribute it, free of charge, to local families.
Until recently, only one such center operated in the state — the Vermont Donor Milk Center in Essex Junction. But last month, Sage Willow Midwifery & Wellness, a women’s health practice in Manchester Center, opened the Manchester Milk Depot and Dispensary to serve women and babies in southern Vermont. Both facilities send donated milk to Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast, one of 31 accredited banks in the U.S. From there, the milk is pooled to ensure optimal nutrient content, pasteurized and tested at third-party labs before being sent to hospitals and milk dispensaries.
First priority is given to premature or sick babies in neonatal intensive care units, according to Kylia Garver, director of hospital relations and community education at the Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast.
Kimberleigh Weiss-Lewit, a lactation consultant at Sage Willow, said milk dispensaries broaden the number of choices for women. She hopes that opening the Manchester site will make it just as easy for new moms to get donated breast milk as it is for them to buy formula at the nearby Walgreens.
Women can receive up to 10 100-milliliter bottles in total — more if they have a doctor’s prescription — through the dispensary, Weiss-Lewit said. It’s not intended to be a long-term solution but a bridge to get women through a rough nursing patch or until their own milk comes in.
Potential donors must register with Mother’s Milk Bank Northeast and take a blood test, which can be done at Sage Willow.
Altruism is often the driving factor for milk donors, Weiss-Lewit said. But there are other, more practical considerations.
“Sometimes,” she said, “women also tell me they need room in their freezer.”
For more information, visit milkbankne.org or sagewillowmidwifery.com.
The original print version of this article was headlined “Manchester’s Got Milk”
This article appears in Wellness Issue 2024.
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