Theresa Culver’s son, Joseph, was born five weeks early. He was sent to the NICU right after birth because he was having trouble breathing.
“From the time he was born, he was on the donor milk immediately. I was only producing maybe 0.1 milliliters,” Culver said.
Joseph relied on donor breast milk until Culver’s own supply came in. When mothers can’t produce enough breast milk, pasteurized donor milk is the best alternative for premature babies. But it isn’t always accessible or affordable.
The first-time mother said she had never heard of donor milk until she was delivering her baby.
“I didn't know that that existed. I had never heard anyone use donor milk before.”
Donor milk comes from screened lactating mothers. It’s processed and distributed to hospitals and families when needed.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends donor milk for high-risk infants. But even when prescribed, it can cost up to $5 per ounce if not covered by insurance. And some hospitals may not even have it in stock.
Alison Wolf is the executive director of the UC Health Milk Bank said a new law is aiming to change that.
“AB 3059, which was signed into law by Governor Newsom, really helps eliminate some of the barriers for equitable donor access. One is to ensure commercial coverage of donor milk,” she said.
Wolf says the new law ensures that donor milk is recognized as an essential health benefit, aligning it with Medi-Cal coverage.
“And then the second part is eliminating the tissue bank license for hospitals. And so some of the small rural safety net hospitals that don't have a donor program in their NICU will now be able to have one,” Wolf said.
Wolf says the $1,000 annual license fee has been a barrier for some rural hospitals.
Medical director of the milk bank, Lisa Stellwagen, said donor milk can be lifesaving.
She hopes the law raises awareness about the life-saving potential of donor milk.
“If you feed a small premature baby human milk, the chance of necrotizing enterocolitis is cut in half, and we're actually way down from 10% to 20% down to more like 5% of these babies that have this bowel condition and using pasteurized donor milk from a milk bank,” she said.
Necrotizing enterocolitis is a deadly bowel disease that affects Black and Hispanic infants at higher rates than white infants.
Eleven weeks after giving birth to Joseph, Culver is donating her breast milk for the first time.
“There was just this huge stress that was taken that was lifted from having the donor milk. My baby's doing so well and I want all moms to be able to say that, too.”
The law will take effect in January 2025.
