Virginia and her breast milk donation, a love story to amplify

Before the start of the pandemic, Virginia Cabrera decided to become a mother who donated breast milk. She had read something on social media which had given her the idea. At that time, her little son Ramiro was just weeks old. With the decision made, she began to figure out how to donate breast milk but then the pandemic arrived and put everyone’s lives on hold (including the idea of donating breast milk) for months.

Then, Virginia and Nicolás, Ramiro's parents, decided that their little baby should not use disposable diapers and opted for cloth ones. “We decided it with the idea of caring for the planet and not generating more plastic. Besides, I tell you, cloth diapers are advanced today, they come with pictures, everything, ”says Virginia.

It was there, in search of those cloth diapers, that she met a woman who sold them. “I noticed she had twins and, of course, we started chatting. She told me that she had had her two children hospitalized and that it cost her a lot. She also explained that they had both received breast milk from the bank and how important it was, ”says Virginia.

Before long, Virginia and Nico found out they were expecting their son, Malú. "It was just last year, around this time, for Breastfeeding Week, that she (the woman who sold cloth diapers) posted on her networks the importance of donating breast milk. I made up my mind at once. I thought that it was the opportunity. When Malú was born two months ago, once she had a good grip on her breast and I saw that there was milk left over, I began to gather”, says Virginia.

She began to find out what the process was like and there, after contacting the Banco de Leche, she met the staff of the Fundación Baylor Argentina, who tried to make it as simple and practical as possible for Virginia. “I have to say that the girls were super attentive, they gave me all the information and very quickly we already delivered the first three bottles of milk. Small, but important ”, she describes. “They are geniuses, they even came to get the milk at the house because you imagine that with the two boys it is not easy. My husband goes to work and when I finish changing one, I have to start changing to the other ”, she jokes about the daily routine of her life with a baby (Ramiro) about to turn 2 years old and another (Malú) of 2 months. She plans to continue donating as long as she can.

Virginia is 35 years old and a teacher. When she finished high school, Virginia studied to become a teacher at the initial level in Neuquén and, in the middle, she returned to Añelo to have her first daughter: Morena, who is 13 years old today. In 2015 she met Nico, they got married and had Ramiro and Malú. She has a position at the Aguada San Roque school, but is on leave. Today, in addition to being a mother who is a donor of breast milk, she breastfeeds her two little ones at the same time. "They drink in tandem," she jokes.

The Neuquén Human Milk Bank was inaugurated in June 2016 and is the first in Patagonia. It operates in the Complex VI Hospital of Cutral Co-Plaza Huincul and is a specialized center to receive milk from donor mothers. Its mission is to ensure the feeding with pasteurized human milk (LHP) of girls and boys born or admitted to institutions. Since its inception, it has collected more than 2,000 liters of human milk from more than 1,400 donor mothers.

Fundación Baylor Argentina is an implementing partner of the Texas Children’s Global Health Network and its founding partner and majority sponsor is Chevron. In Neuquén, the Foundation develops different health promotion and disease prevention programs in Rincón de los Sauces, the Ciudad Industrial neighborhood of the Neuquén capital, Añelo and areas of influence such as Los Chihuidos and Aguada San Roque.

A fundamental aspect of Fundación Baylor Argentina activities is supporting the donation of breast milk. In the province of Neuquén, there is a breast milk bank that collects donations and arranges the adequate transport of donated milk. The foundation provides support to the donor mother where she needs it and helps to explain the requirements, arrange the rigorous blood tests and, if the patient accepts, contacts the patient with the provincial breast milk bank. They are attentive to the entire process to solve any problem. Fundación Baylor Argentina supports the Añelo Hospital and is accredited by the Neuquén Ministry of Health as a Friendly Center for Lactation.

Fundación Baylor Argentina would like to thank Sandra Weder and Alejandro Ballerio from the Bouquet Roldán hospital, the nutritionist Astrid Henoch from the Breast Milk Bank, the Plottier and Cutral Co hospitals and all of the team that works so that the donation of breast milk may be possible. And most of all, they want to thank, value and amplify Virginia and her selfless love.