Paying it Forward for Little NICU Champions

September 11, 2020

September is NICU Awareness Month. We are so grateful for Eliza, who reached out to us to share her NICU story and how donor milk was an integral part of her son’s recovery and an extraordinary way for her to help others.

As a first-time mom, Eliza never expected a full-term pregnancy to result in a 9-day NICU stay. But that is what happened when Jayden was born by C-section underweight with complications from Meconium Aspiration Syndrome followed by jaundice. At the suggestion of NICU doctors and because of his low birth weight, Jayden received donor milk for the first 2-3 days as a bridge to breastfeeding.

Later, with an abundant supply of breastmilk, Eliza wanted to give back and became a milk donor. Eliza describes those days in the NICU as the hardest in her life. She says, “I want to donate to make an impact helping little champions in the NICU and their parents. I am thankful for an organization like Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas that makes it possible.”