Couple of questions before I start donating

Hi everyone!

I just signed up here- I got to donate 30 oz to a friend of a friend and it seriously felt SO good to make sure that a baby was going to get "mama milk" instead of formula that my friend suggested I sign up here. :-)

So I have a few questions:

How much is a reasonable donation? I don't think I can do something where I can be someone's sole source of milk, but could donate 30oz or so every month, month and 1/2. Is this normal? is this an OK thing to specify?

Another question- I'm on an inhaler for asthma, however, I rarely use it as since i got pregnant, my asthma has YET to flare up severely. I think i've used it once, maybe twice post partum.... should I basically start from scratch as far as building a "to donate" stash and just make sure its not pumped on a date that I used my inhaler? (my doc said it was ok for me to use it while nursing).

On that note- what happens if i've got a regular person that i'm donating to and I catch a cold?

I was tested for STD's and such when I got pregnant because I was going to have a water birth. (didn't happen but that's another story for another forum) would this test still be ok? I've only ever had one partner (my husband). Would I have to get another test? or is that one of those things where its dependent on the person i'd be donating to. I'd be more than happy to share a copy of my test results with anyone who'd i'd be donating to.


Ok that's it for now!!

Margaret

Hi Margaret! It's wonderful that you are considering this.


I have gotten donations as small as 25 ounces and as big as 1000. I'm sure it will be different for each mama. For me, especially if it's local, I'm willing to do small amounts. I had a couple consistent donors for a while and that was really nice. If you want to find one mom to work with, then the two of you could work out the specifics of how much and how often.

Personally, I'm not too worried about medications as long as they are considered safe for breastfeeding. But, I have a healthy older baby. If someone is getting milk for a preemie or sick baby, they might be more careful. I probably would see if there's someone that would take the milk you currently have and then just start marking them when you use your inhaler so that the mama could choose.
The same would go for a cold, I think. Just mark the milk and let the mama decide.

I have been fine with tests run at the beginning of pregnancy, but that may be different with each mama.

Good luck! I hope you have more great experiences with donating. I know it has been such a blessing for me and my little guy.