Experiences of breastmilk donation and breastfeeding in the UK and Ireland

Seven bereaved mothers who donated milk to the Human Milk Bank (HMB) located in Northern Ireland were recruited. These women took part in semi-structured interviews which explored their experiences of perinatal loss and the role that expression/donation played for them in their grief. These interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis as a qualitative methodology.

Three superordinate themes emerged from the analysis; (1) Fulfilling the mother role; (2) The power of being able to ‘Do’; (3) Making good from the bad. Each mother gained a great deal of comfort in having the ability to express milk. For some this created a physical connection to their child, for others, it created time alone to process what had happened and for all, it created a sense of autonomy and ownership in what was otherwise a very turbulent stage of their lives.<br>