Hannah Weaver knows firsthand how valuable donated breast milk can be for fragile babies, and for a new mother’s peace of mind.

Weaver was thrilled to find out she was pregnant, but things did not go as planned. Her water broke at 17 weeks. She thought for sure she would lose her baby, however after six weeks of bed rest and two months in the hospital, the former TMC nurse manager of the Mom Baby Unit welcomed her healthy baby girl into the world via cesarean section at 32 weeks.

Providing breast milk for her baby was a priority for Weaver, but she was unable to breastfeed at first due to her recovery needs. Fortunately, TMC participates in a milk bank donation program in partnership with Mothers’ Milk Bank of Austin, which enables women to donate extra breast milk to help premature and sick babies.

Weaver was thankful and relieved to have this option - her baby’s first meal was donated breast milk.

“Having had such an abnormal pregnancy, I really wanted to provide milk for my baby,” Hannah said. “Anticipating she’d be born premature and knowing we had that resource was so comforting to me. It allowed me to recover more easily when I couldn’t breastfeed her myself. It was a huge blessing having one thing go right.”

Once she was able, Weaver took the reigns of breastfeeding her baby, who is now almost one year old.

“I love breastfeeding because I could eat like a garbage disposal,” she joked. “I had no problem producing milk. I had an oversupply.”

In a beautiful full circle, Weaver was able to donate her extra milk – hundreds of ounces - to help other families who found themselves in similar situations.

“To be able to provide something for another person, and to help the most vulnerable babies has blessed me,” she said. “I know how hard it is and to be able to take one burden off of other moms is just so beautiful.”

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