13 Bio-Intimate Economies of Breastmilk ... 333One of the first cases of donor milk use at Morgan’s workplace
occurred when a mother unexpectedly passed away after giving birth
to a very premature infant. The sister of the mother, who had recently
given birth herself, arrived in the unit with her own milk to give to her
niece. At the time, there were no guidelines in the hospital for the use
of donor milk, but the neonatologists were very keen for this baby to
receive donor milk, if available. In consultation with the neonatologists,
infection control, and the family, a meeting was held and information
was given to both the father of the baby and the sister so that informed
consent was given. The sister then continued to provide her milk for her
niece for some weeks until infant formula could safely be introduced.
In another situation, a mother had given birth to a full term baby
and then passed away within an hour of the birth. Her plan had been
to breastfeed, and her partner was very keen for this wish to be ful-
filled. It was fortunate that the unit had a considerable supply of full-
term donor milk available, and following discussions with the partner
and family, this was introduced with consent. A close family friend was
a health professional and immediately started to organise a plan for an
ongoing supply of donor milk for this baby. Also at that time, the unit
was receiving phone calls from women who had heard about the mother
passing away and wished to donate milk. Liaison took place with the
unit, the health professional friend and family who wished to ensure
that the donor milk was screened following best practice, and they were
given a copy of the hospital guidelines. The health professional took it
upon herself to arrange screening and delivery of donor milk for this
baby once the hospital supply had ended. Once the infant was dis-
charged, a steady supply of donor milk was provided until the baby was
around six months old.
It is often a difficult to have a discussion with a family in the case of
an infant death (Carroll et al. 2014 ). Along with unexpected grief for
the family, gaining informed consent for breastmilk donation is merely
one of the innumerable processes involving many people that have to be
undertaken in the hospital. In cases of neonatal death, it may be some
weeks following the passing of the baby before a mother can make a
decision about milk that was expressed and stored for her own baby’s
use. In these situations, a lactation consultant or senior nurses may