This article was originally published in the June 2024 edition of Héma-Québec’s Magazine. All issues of the Magazine are available here.

Mélissa, lactation consultant nurse

Here’s to connecting mothers and donors

As a nurse at CHU Sainte-Justine for 25 years, Mélissa Savaria has spent almost her entire career in neonatology, specifically lactation support. But how she ended up there was something of a lucky accident!

“I was part of Ste-Justine’s floating staff and wanted to join a team for more job stability. There was an opening in neonatology, and I fell in love with it! I didn’t expect to become a lactation specialist. In my family, no one breastfed and it wasn’t a topic that was discussed or valued. My job made me aware of the issue!”

Her first love in neonatology was kangaroo care, a technique that promotes parent-child bonding through skin-to-skin contact. “There’s always something magical when parents try kangaroo care for the first time. Despite all our advancements, there’s nothing like the physiological stability that comes with direct parent-child contact.”

The birth of Héma-Québec’s Public Mothers’ Milk Bank

The logical next step after direct physical contact is breastfeeding. In 2008, Mélissa took a training to become a lactation specialist and now helps mothers who want to breastfeed. In 2010, CHU Sainte-Justine created a nurse position that was solely devoted to lactation support. A few years later in 2013, the CHU Sainte-Justine team was contacted by Héma-Québec, which the government had just mandated to create a Public Mothers’ Milk Bank to help preemies whose mothers weren’t able to produce enough milk.

At this point, Mélissa had just returned from maternity leave. She threw herself into this new project and joined the working group created to launch Héma-Québec’s Public Mothers’ Milk Bank (PMMB), which finally opened its doors in spring 2014 after a year of prep work.

“That was a very busy year! We had to develop protocols, create training tools, decide what the process would be to inform families of the PMMB, adapt the breast milk laboratory. But it was so exciting! We’ve worked closely with Héma-Québec ever since.”

Offering support to mothers

How do moms react when offered breast milk from the PMMB for their preemie baby?

“It really depends. Across the board, premature births always cause shock and concern for parents. But usually, once we explain the benefits of breast milk for premature babies, the majority of parents are relieved to know there’s a backup plan for them. It takes the pressure off. Plus, after seeing how other mothers have gone the extra mile to donate their surplus milk, preemie mothers understand just how important milk donation is. There are some who even go on to donate their own breast milk if they have extra later on. Moms find both reassurance and inspiration in the Public Mothers’ Milk Bank.”

Stories that inspire

Over the past few years, Mélissa has been heavily involved in making it as easy as possible for mothers who have received milk from the PMMB to become donors themselves.

“Each year, we have many mothers who produce plenty of milk. They have so much left over and want to help out. I don’t want any mother whose child is still in neonatology to have to wade through a long application process. That’s my goal. I want to be the bridge between HémaQuébec and these mothers. In recent years, we’ve done a lot to streamline the sign-up process for moms so that they can stay by their babies’ side. I’m so proud of the success of our partnership!”

Mélissa sees being a bridge as a powerful metaphor, as she spends her days explaining just how important direct human contact is.

“There are so many inspiring stories about mothers in neonatology. It’s very common for these moms to become friends. They run into each other at the hospital and get to meet the people they are donating their milk to. It’s so moving to see parents having these conversations. It’s really motivating for them, too. It does a world of good!”