334 R.M. Shaw and M. Morgan
become involved to discuss with the mother how to manage her lacta-
tion following the death, and decisions regarding any stored breastmilk
in a unit are made on a case-by-case basis. At Morgan’s workplace, one
mother was unable to make a decision for about three weeks, before
requesting to take the milk that had been stored in the freezers. As a rit-
ual to commemorate and mourn her infant’s death, the mother said she
had decided to take her milk in order to pour it onto the baby’s grave.
Where a baby has died, a mother who has been breastfeeding or
expressing may immediately offer her milk to be used by other babies.
For these women, the loss of a baby causes her grief for not only the
baby but for herself as a mother. Welborn ( 2012 ) found that for many
of the women interviewed for her study, expressing and offering their
milk helped in the healing process, allowing them a continuation of
feelings of motherhood as well as a sense of connection to their baby.
Like deceased donation where families donate their loved ones’ organs
(see Shaw 2015 ), breastmilk donation may give some women a positive
feeling out of a tragic loss. Donating milk in these situations can also be
other-oriented. In Arnold and Borman’s ( 1996 ) research, some women
donated their surplus milk so as not to waste what they had expressed,
or to help premature or sick babies to survive.
The Views of NICU Staff and Parents
Informal discussions with staff at Morgan’s workplace about the use of
donor milk indicate that they are comfortable with the use of screened
donor milk and will often encourage women to donate if they comment
they have too much milk. Unit staff view the practice as beneficial for
the premature infants in their care. Although causal links are impossible
to decisively pinpoint, there is some indication that the use of donor
breastmilk in the NICU has contributed to low rates of NEC.
Requests to donate milk are received from women outside the neo-
natal unit. Typically, however, only women with babies in the unit
are allowed to provide their milk until formal milk banking facili-
ties are established. The drawback of using raw screened frozen donor
http://www.ebook3000.com