Margot Spiller has been donating her extra breast milk, a life-saving resource for premature infants, since she gave birth to her first daughter nine years ago. Now nursing her third girl, Spiller has continued her generosity, gifting Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast (MMBN), a Newton nonprofit, her surplus supply each week. MMBN is marking its 20th anniversary this year.
Donating her extra breast milk to the organization so it would not go to waste “seemed like a no-brainer,” said the Newton resident. “I’ve seen it as a way to feel really connected to other new mothers.”
MMBN CEO Deborah C. Youngblood, who previously served as Newton’s Commissioner for Health and Human Services, was a donor herself years ago.
Although she breastfed her three children, her middle son would not bottle feed from breast milk she pumped on workdays.
“Given his bottle boycott, I ended up with a freezer full of unused, pumped breast milk that I did not want to waste,” said Youngblood. “I knew how important human milk is for infant nutrition. … As a mom and as someone who has spent many years caring about all children — not just my own — I was delighted to be part of the solution [through donation].”
Some mothers whose infants have died also make the moving decision to share their breast milk.
“Losing a baby is unimaginably painful. Our bereaved family program is meant to be part of the healing process, meaning that the experience of the donor is more important to us than the amount of milk we receive,” said Youngblood. “Our Donor Screening and Engagement team has all been trained by experienced social workers with expertise in grief and loss to ensure that our connections with these families are respectful of their experiences.”
Addressing growing need
The benefits of breast milk, especially for preterm infants, are indisputable, according to hospitals and medical associations across the U.S. and the world. This is especially true for medically vulnerable preterm infants being cared for in a hospital. When a maternal supply is not available, or more is needed than a mom can produce, many medical centers — including Boston Children’s Hospital and Newton-Wellesley Hospital, among others — provide pasteurized donor human milk to at-risk babies.
MMBN donates “to more than 100 hospitals throughout the northeast, all of which rely on us to help nourish and protect their tiny charges,” according to the organization’s website.
According to the organization, the bank was founded in 2006 by local mother and advocate Naomi Bar-Yam. She was inspired to start the MMBN after having two premature babies herself.
Back in 2006, despite Boston being a center of medicine, the closest milk bank was in Ohio, according to MMBN. After working with advocates, lactation specialists, doctors, and others, Bar-Yam went on to found the nonprofit. Since then, the need for donor milk has continued to grow. In fact, Youngblood said the Newton location may soon be expanding.
In its 2025 Impact Report, MMBN included sobering statistics from several sources about the increased need, including the following:
- “10% of babies in the U.S. are born early.” (March of Dimes)
- “More than 90% of U.S. hospital NICUs rely on accredited milk banks to care for their tiniest patients.” (2020 American Academy of Pediatrics’ clinical report)
- Mothers’ milk “reduced [the] risk of SIDS, asthma, diabetes, and leukemia [and] improved neurodevelopmental outcomes [for premature babies].” (The American Academy of Pediatrics and the NIH)
Youngblood said, “We estimate that roughly 1.5 million feedings were provided to approximately 22,000 babies in need last year alone.”
How does it work?
After mothers complete a comprehensive health screening, they pump and freeze their milk. It is then either dropped off or picked up and taken to the pasteurization lab located at the Newton headquarters (377 Elliot Street, Newton Upper Falls).
“After pasteurization, samples from every batch are sent to a third-party lab to ensure that no harmful bacteria remains,” according to Youngblood. “Once those results are recorded, the milk can be shipped to hospitals, dispensaries, and directly to families.”
The nonprofit is able to sell extra supply (if there is any) to outpatient families, and those in need also can apply for financial aid through MMBN’s Compassion Fund. Some insurance companies cover the cost.
The nonprofit charges fees because “processing pasteurized donor human milk requires trained milk bank staff to reach out to and screen donors, and then safely pasteurize, test, and distribute the milk. It also requires equipment, space, shipping, and administration,” according to the website.
MMBN is “accredited and regulated by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”
