Mum donates 100 pints of breast milk to help other mothers after son was stillborn
'Seeing those babies thriving from my milk, really helped me through my healing process'
A mum whose son was stillborn has used her breast milk to help others by continuing to lactate and donate it to families in need.
At 19 weeks Wendy Cruz-Chan tragically gave birth to her stillborn son Killian, due to Chorioamnionitis - an intra-amniotic infection which causes an inflammation of the fetal membranes due to a bacterial infection.
Wendy somehow managed to turn her devastating experience into something positive, and set out to begin donating her own breast milk to those in need. She describes her decision in one of her Instagram posts, 'Sometimes when life gives you sour lemons, you have to try your best to make lemonade out of it.'
Just three days after her son's birth, Wendy started lactating and instead of phasing out her breast milk she decided to encourage it so that she could donate her milk and help other mums.
Throughout her time donating her breast milk she has helped six mothers and pumped 100 pints of breast milk. Wendy has documented her experience on Instagram, explaining, 'I was 19 weeks gestation when I birth him sleeping due to Chorioamnionitis. I decided the best way to honor him is to help as many babies I can with his milk.'
Pumping so much milk was gruelling for Wendy but worth it in the end to help other children grow healthily, 'pumping every 3-4 hours a day including nights was very tiring. But it was so worth it. Seeing those babies thriving from my milk, really helped me through my healing process. I know I'm going to miss lactating.'
After three months Wendy has decided to finish her journey and has shared her achievements on her Instagram page explaining, '3 months ago today, I embarked on a lactation journey 3 days after my stillbirth of my son Killian. I had pumped and donated 2,038 ounces of my breastmilk to 6 babies. I had finally reached my personal goal at over 2,000 oz in 3 months.'
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The mother of two is now looking forward to becoming pregnant again, 'Now it's time to end my lactation journey and concentrate on myself as I get my body ready for the next pregnancy.
'I have to be on a month long of penicillin therapy. I am so grateful for helping out all those babies with my milk and meeting their families.'
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