Brianna McFarland is helping fragile babies from her Cherry Valley home by breastfeeding her 4-month-old daughter Lara-Jeana.
“I was drowning in milk and she could going drink so much. She was only drinking a couple ounces a day. I started over producing three days after she was born,” said McFarland.
As a new mom she was producing almost a gallon of breastmilk every two days. A lactation specialist who helped McFarland with her breastfeeding suggested she donate the excess to the UC Health Milk Bank at UC San Diego.
“I have been able to ship to UC milk bank in San Diego, but sometimes their boxes don’t fit enough when I have to deep purge of the freezer before something would go bad,” she said.
She no longer has to ship her donated breast milk instead she can drive and deposit it in Riverside.
Last month, UCR Health Inland Empire Women’s Health Center started accepting donations at its newly established Breast Milk Depot.
“It makes it easier for women who can donate breastmilk to get it to the right place. They can bring it here to UCR Health and we can send it down to UC San Diego without them having to make the drive or without them having to send it themselves,” said Dr. Brenda Ross-Shelton