'That is 100% impressive': New Ohio mother donates more than 7,000 meals of breastmilk

Alia Ross has been busy in the nine months since her daughter, Novalene, was born.

First was the learning curve of becoming a mother. Next she got used to breastfeeding a newborn several times daily.

Finally, after settling into her routine, Ross realized she needed to find something to do with the extra breast milk her body was making.

"I had an oversupply," she said. "I was out of freezer space. We had to buy a new freezer for storing all the milk."

The duo have since donated enough milk to the OhioHealth Mothers' Milk Bank to make more than 7,000 meals for newborns in need.

And those reserves all came while there was a critical need for breastmilk nationwide.

'You could donate that milk'

Novalene R. Ross was born in July at The Ohio State University.

The baby was born healthy and on time, but Ross' milk supply was not yet fully established.

"We actually got a milk donation at the hospital to take home with her," Ross said. "That provided her nutrition until I was able to do so on my own."

She soon enrolled in a lactation class where she learned more about nursing her daughter. She learned she would need to drink more water and eat healthy fats.

While she was in the class, Ross heard about the nationwide need for breastmilk.

"I was like, 'I have a freezer full of milk,'" she recalled. "They were like, 'Well, you could donate that milk.'"

She liked the idea of giving back ― especially since the breastmilk donation program had helped her own daughter ― so she signed up.

"They do safety prechecks and stuff, so they call you and interview you and go over some questions with you," Ross said. "You have to pass a safety screen. There are certain medications that you can't take to be a donor."

Milk bank staff also ensure mothers are storing their breastmilk properly for safe future consumption.

'Moms can only donate for one to two years'

Women who want to become milk donors can go through the registration process either while they're still expecting or after they give birth, according to Kelly Payne, the administrative nurse manager at Mansfield Hospital in charge of milk bank drop-offs.

Potential donors can call the OhioHealth Mothers' Milk Bank at 614-566-0630 or email milkbank@ohiohealth.com.

"Once they have become an approved donor, if they're in the Richland County area, they can call us here at OhioHealth Mansfield and they can bring their milk to us here," Payne said. "We take care of getting it to the milk bank."

The donations always are appreciated by both healthcare professionals and fellow parents.

"There's a critical need for human milk," Payne said. "When you're donating milk, usually moms can only donate for one to two years."

'The more we can have the better'

The milk can help babies of all ages, but generally is saved for the smallest who are born early and are sick.

"They're hoping to be able to offer it to more babies soon," Payne said. "There's always babies that need it. The more we can have the better so that we can give it to those babies that need it, when they need it."

Since they are small and very young when they receive the donated milk, infants tend to only need about 1 once per meal.

As of mid-April, hospital records showed Ross had donated 7,670 ounces of breastmilk since July.

"That is 100% impressive," Payne said.

It's a feat Ross had no idea was possible only a year ago. In fact, had her daughter not needed a donation herself, she would have never known to become a donor.

Now she plans to keep pumping milk as long as her body lets her.

"A lot of people can pump for up to two years," Ross said. "Sometimes people's bodies just naturally stop producing. I'm hoping to at least make it a year, if not longer."

Her efforts were recognized one day this spring when three new mothers noticed her dropping off a donation of breast milk.

"It was kind of emotional," Ross said.

All three women had infants in the neonatal intensive care unit ― each of the newborns were being sustained by donated breastmilk.

"They came up and thanked me for my donation and for being a donor," Ross said. "They said it really meant a lot to them."

She suspects every new mother who is able to donate will become a breastmilk donor once they realize how much they can help other newborn babies in need.

ztuggle@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: New Ohio mother has donated 7,000 meals of breastmilk to milk bank