02/03/2021
This is what a hero looks like. Giving beyond fear, sadness and grief.
We all grieve the loss of a child very differently. In the case of moms who lose preemies, or babies who are born prior to 37 weeks in the womb, the human body will still produce breast milk for quite a long time if a mother is pumping daily. The body only responds to the request for milk by repeatedly replacing the milk that is removed from the breast tissue. If milk is not removed, the process of the breast milk "drying up" slowly begins and the body stops producing new milk. But the more quickly and the more often that the milk is removed, the more milk is produced, which is how the needs of twins, triplets, and more can be met by a breastfeeding mother.
Taylor Prats is one of many mothers who made the decision to continue pumping her milk even after the passing of her child, providing a very unique preemie specific liquid gold to other Nicu babies. Because our milk changes depending on the age of the baby, this rare type of breastmilk is a huge factor in helping to assist other preemie babies to thrive and live as their mothers likely recover from difficult and/or unexpectedly early deliveries themselves.
Taylor is truly an angel among us and she explains on her personal page that, "This milk was milk I worked so hard to pump for my sick daughter. She passed on November 30th, and this was the best way I knew to help her live on!" - WSCB
