TEMPLE, TX — August is National Breastfeeding Month, and Baylor Scott and White - Temple is using this time to highlight a program helping Central Texas mothers.
The Mothers' Milk Bank Donation site at Baylor Scott and White in Temple allows moms to donate their extra breast milk.
Brandi Garbs' twins arrived a lot sooner than she expected.
"Saylor and Sage came a little early, 28 weeks and 4 days within my pregnancy, 100 percent they came out and they were able to start receiving the milk and digesting it well. So, without my milk coming in first, I wanted to give them the opportunity to have something that was a lot more similar and natural," said Garbs.
Since she could not produce milk on her own just yet, the hospital had another alternative for her.
"When they came to me with the option of donor milk, I was all about it because I did not want their first taste of milk to be formula or something that was not naturally created. I used it for the first three days," said Garbs.
"We are a drop point location for the Mothers' Milk Bank in Austin. We have a large fridge that sits over in our postpartum, in the newborn nursery, and moms who have gone through the entire process to be able to donate their milk with the Austin milk bank, they do all of that for them. And then they give them a number and once they're assigned that donation number, then they can bring their milk to us with that number attached to it and we can hold on to it," said Stacy Harp, RN/CLC, McLane Children's Hospital - Temple.
The milk comes from moms like Kimleda Bates.
"I had a lot of milk, and I know in the beginning they had him on like a project and needed breast milk as well. I didn't realize how much breast milk they use when it comes to premature babies. Since I had a lot of milk anyway, I figured why not help other babies," said Bates.
Garbs also plans on giving back.
"And I've only been here for a week, and so everything that I make after that will go into the donation pile as well... Great thing for mothers here in situations like this and need that head start for their babies," said Garbs.
The Mothers' Milk Bank non-profit organization helps save the lives of medically fragile infants nationwide.
