Derry mum donates vital breast milk to feed neo-natal babies

Yasmine Simonne Doherty, gave birth to her baby girl, Fianna, on August 31 2021, and has breastfed her little one since birth.

After hearing about the Western Health and Social Care Trust's plea for their human milk bank, a vital resource for feeding premature and sick babies across the island, Yasmin was eager to help.

Yasmin enquired and received her milk bank donor starter pack in October 2021 and donated in January 2022 after the WHSC's New Year appeal.

Yasmin said: "We have enough milk to have a happy healthy Fi, and milk to share, so donating means we can help other wee babies to grow strong too.

"Fi is our second baby, our little girl Saoirse is nearly two. I know so many comments painted me as a "supermum," but I fed Saoirse for a year too.

"She was born just as lockdown hit and I wasn’t fully aware of the milk bank and the acceptance rules because all the usual support services had gone into lockdown too.

"So, when Fi was born in August, I already had knowledge of the milk bank and I knew I’d have the supply to be able to help so I contacted them as soon as I could.

"To me, it just feels like the right thing to do for the tiniest of people who need all the help they can get.” 

Yasmin is aiming to donate again before Fianna turns six months as after the baby hits this age, new mums are no longer able to donate.

Yasmin explained: "New mums can only donate for six months following birth so, with everyone’s encouragement, we have decided to start on our second donation before Fianna's Happy Half Birthday.

"We’ve just received more bottles today to donate a further two litres. We will be handing over that milk the weekend following her turning six months but must stop bottling the milk on the day she turns six months.

"It’s really important to stick to the rules as the milk is always changing depending on the age of the baby. As the milk goes to premature and sick babies, it needs to be age appropriate."

Yasmin has been so overwhelmed with the positive response from everyone and hopes it encourages other new mums to consider donation.

"The response has been so lovely and I want to thank everyone for their kind words," she continued. "Awareness is so important and without realising, each and every like, comment and share has raised awareness of this life saving service for the tiniest of babies so thank you to everyone. This is such a lifesaving service for tiny babies."

The Western Health and Social Care Trust thanked Yasmin for her donation. They wrote: "A massive thank you to our amazing donor mum, Yasmin Simonne Doherty.

"We issued an appeal for new donor mums at the start of the New Year and Yasmin was delighted to be able to donate her breast milk to the milk bank.

"Yasmin posted a picture on her social media account to raise awareness of the milk bank and received lots of comments from other mums about how they could donate their milk.

"It is brilliant that our appeal has reached so many people and we would encourage people to keep sharing the importance of this life-saving service providing donor milk for premature and sick babies across Ireland.

"Fianna must be so proud of her mum. Thank you to all our donor mums. We are very grateful for your support."

You can find out more about how to become a donor via: https://westerntrust.hscni.net/service/human-milk-bank/