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Mum Becomes Breast Milk Milkman To Help Feed Hungry Babies After Donating 330 Pints Of Her Own Liquid Gold

Kimberley Bond

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Mum Becomes Breast Milk Milkman To Help Feed Hungry Babies After Donating 330 Pints Of Her Own Liquid Gold

Featured Image Credit: Mercury

We can all picture the typical friendly neighbourhood milkman - but one woman has a very special milk delivery she hands out to mums in need.

Leanne Forbes, 29, transports gallons of breast milk from her local baby bank in Exeter to those who are unable or struggling to breastfeed their neonatal babies every month.

Leanne decided to volunteer in her spare time (Credit: Mercury)
Leanne decided to volunteer in her spare time (Credit: Mercury)

The A&E receptionist had previously donated 190 litres, which is the equivalent of 330 pints, of her own breast milk to other mothers by the time she chose to stop breast feeding her youngest child, aged one.

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But she was so thrilled to donate other new mums that Leanne now volunteers her free time to collect and drop off milk from mums, for mums.

Speaking about her role, Leanne joked: "Everybody thinks I'm crazy when I tell them I'm sort of like a breast milk milkman.

"I know a lot of the women on my round because you do go to the same addresses each time.

Breastfeeding is a struggle for some (Credit: Pexels)
Breastfeeding is a struggle for some (Credit: Pexels)
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"I say hello and have a laugh with many of them, just like a milkman would.

"It's a very special and emotional thing to donate and share breast milk, so many mums are going through their own journey or troubles and I get to help them with a part of that."

Leanne, who lives at home in Barnstaple, Devon, with her four children, Jacob, seven, Evangeline, six, Henry, three, and Poppy, one, didn't even know breast milk donation was possible until a midwife suggested it.

She had previously struggled to breastfeed her first two children, choosing to stop nursing them aged six months and topping them up with formula milk instead.

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But with her second pair, Leanne produced more than enough milk to feed Henry and Poppy for a year, and asked her midwife for advice on what to do with the excess.

The service is ideal for mums who are struggling (Credit: Pexels)
The service is ideal for mums who are struggling (Credit: Pexels)

Having started volunteering to help with the collections last July, Leanne now has to carefully plan her timings to ensure that she collects and drops off all the milk within a five hour window, to ensure it stays fresh.

After collecting the milk from the mothers and safely storing it in freezer boxes in her boot, Leanne takes the liquid gold to the Healthy Baby Hub in Tiverton, Devon, where it is kept frozen until it can be pasteurised and distributed to premature babies in need.

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The news comes after Chrissy Teigen, who spoke candidly about using formula with her children, and called for parents to "normalise" struggling with breast feeding.

Topics: Breastfeeding, Life News, Family

Kimberley Bond
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