Breast Milk Donation Saves Infant's Life

Nicole Hendrix had pumped gallons and gallons of breast milk for her premature daughter, Lillian. Sadly, that little girl died. The milk, however, was donated by Hendrix to a sick premature newborn whose mother could not produce:

Both babies suffered from a condition called necrotizing enterocolitis, where blood circulation was cut off to portions of their bowel. It occurs most commonly among extremely premature infants.

Breast milk is thought to be protective against necrotizing enterocolitis, Weatherstone said. And it's the best-tolerated milk for infants recovering from the condition.

Often it's difficult, though, for mothers of preemies to give their babies milk. Either their body isn't ready to produce milk or the stress of dealing with a critically ill child keeps the milk from flowing.

Link via Brian J. Noggle | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user benklocek used under Creative Commons license