Donor Spotlight: Ambrosia’s Story
Photo provided by Ambrosia Kingstone
Ambrosia Kingstone shares first-hand what inspired her to become a Milk Bank donor and how she collected 350 litres of breastmilk for donation – enough milk to fill roughly two bathtubs.
“My donation journey began after the birth of my son in January 2021. After being home with our brand new baby for less than six hours we had to rush back to the hospital and stay another night. During this time we struggled with breastfeeding and finally made the decision to try and pump instead. At that point it had already been a number of days and I had not had any real opportunities to bring in my milk. I began to feel my hope of providing breast milk for my baby fading.
Thankfully, I was able to focus on pumping and quickly my body began producing more and more breast milk. Before long, I had filled my fridge and freezer with extra milk and I knew it would have to go somewhere! I started researching donation options and found the milk bank. I thought it was such an amazing opportunity that I immediately started the process of becoming a donor. I thought, if I could help ease the minds of parents with babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, by doing my small part and helping to provide their little ones with donated breast milk, then they could focus on enjoying the new life in their lives.
Photo provided by Ambrosia Kingstone
Fast forward almost two years to today – I donated 350 litres of breastmilk with my son and (after a five month hiatus) I am back a second time after the birth of my daughter to donate some more! I feel so honoured to be able to provide not only for my children but for others in need. It is such a humbling way of being a new parent and feeling like part of a community all banding together to raise the next generation.”
The Milk Bank asks for a minimum donation of 5 litres of milk from our approved donors to ensure that the milk stays frozen during shipment to the Milk Bank, but any amount more than that is greatly appreciated.
Ambrosia Kingstone