Research highlights emotional benefits and challenges of breast milk donation

By Dr. Sushama R. Chaphalkar, PhD.Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc.Jul 28 2024

In a recent study published in the journal Maternal and Child Nutrition, researchers investigated the impact of being able to donate milk on women's well-being. Women who donated milk reported positive impacts on their well-being, whereas those unable to donate often felt rejected and frustrated, thus highlighting the emotional benefits and challenges associated with breast milk donation.

Study: Disparities in being able to donate human milk impacts upon maternalwell-beingg: Lessons for scaling up milk bank service provision. Image Credit: evso / Shutterstock.com

Challenges in breast milk donation

Breastfeeding has been shown to protect maternal and infant health. Donor human milk (DHM) can significantly benefit premature infants, especially when maternal milk is unavailable. DHM can also reduce parental anxiety and support mental health, thereby providing comfort when breastfeeding is not possible.

Donating milk can also improve maternal well-being, particularly for those who have experienced infant loss. However, few qualitative studies have studied this relationship, most of which comprised small samples and were performed outside of the United Kingdom.

Breast milk donors often encounter logistical challenges, health restrictions, and a lack of support. Mothers unable to donate often feel frustrated and rejected. Additionally, U.K. guidelines for milk donation can vary, leading to inconsistencies and inequitable access to this facility.

About the study

In the present study, any woman in the United Kingdom who wanted to donate breast milk was allowed to participate. There were no restrictions on the time since the donation attempt or the ability to successfully donate breast milk.

Study participants were required to be 16 years of age or older, able to complete the survey in English, and provide informed consent. A total of 1,149 mothers with a mean age of 34.5 years were included in the study. The participants had diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, 86.8% of whom were White.

Data were collected between May 2022 and March 2023, initially in Wales and later across the U.K. Wales was oversampled to explore donation challenges due to recent changes in donation availability.

The online survey included demographic details, reasons for donating, donation details, and perceived impacts, including mental health effects. Open-ended questions explored motivations and experiences related to milk donation. All data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis, with qualitative responses subjected to thematic analysis.

Study findings

About 43% of the study participants were first-time mothers. Major reasons for donating breast milk included helping other families, having excess milk, and ease of expressing milk, reported among 90.3%, 48.1%, and 44.1% of the study participants, respectively. Additional reasons included the presence of infant allergies, own allergies, mental health benefits, passion for breastfeeding, and practical reasons, such as lack of freezer space.

Of all study participants, 36.3% could successfully donate milk, whereas 63.7% could not. Among those unable to donate, 53.4% did not enquire about donation, and 46.6% did not because they were told they could not.

For mothers who donated breast milk, the experience was largely positive and enhanced feelings of achievement, pride, and happiness. Eight themes emerged from qualitative responses, thus highlighting breast milk donation's positive impact on mental health, coping with perinatal challenges, improved self-worth, gratitude, relationship building, body appreciation, relief from milk wastage, and motivation to continue breastfeeding. Many mothers found donation to be therapeutic, particularly those with difficult breastfeeding journeys or baby loss.

In contrast, mothers unable to donate reported negative emotions, including disappointment, frustration, guilt, and feelings of rejection. These emotions were stronger among those who were told they could not donate or received no response than among those who assumed they could not donate or decided not to donate.

Conclusions

The study findings demonstrate the emotional and practical benefits of breast milk donation for mothers and emphasize the need for better support and communication to facilitate donation processes. Improved milk bank training and milk banking services are also needed, in addition to addressing cultural and other barriers to achieving true equity in milk donation.

Although the study's large sample size strengthens it, it is limited by an older, highly educated, and self-selected participant pool. Additional limitations include potential internet recruitment bias, a non-representative convenience sample split, and the need for further international comparison of milk banking infrastructure and attitudes.