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Breast milk donors help give babies a healthy start

Published Date
Author Providence Oregon News Team

April 2026

At Providence Medford Medical Center, families facing unexpected challenges in the earliest days of life are finding hope through an extraordinary act of generosity: Donated human milk.

Emily Boissevain-Duckett knows firsthand how meaningful that support can be. When she was pregnant with her first child, Trevor, complications led to an early delivery — and an uncertain start.

“I couldn’t produce milk at that time. It was terrifying,” Emily says.

Emily’s experience coincided with the baby formula shortage of 2022.

“I was like, ‘I don’t know what to do.’”

Thankfully, Emily was able to rely on breast milk donations until she was able to produce her own milk.

 “I finally started producing milk. It was maybe two ounces, but I was like, ‘I did it!’”

It wasn’t long after that, that that Emily was able to become a donor herself. Now, with her second baby, she is back to donate again.

“I wanted to give back," she says.

A gift that supports our most vulnerable

Human milk plays a vital role for newborns who are premature, medically fragile or facing breastfeeding challenges. Families may choose donor milk or formula, and having that choice can make all the difference.

“Every time someone brings in donor milk, it makes my heart so happy. What a blessing,” says Tracy Hanson, a perinatal educator and doula at  Providence Medford Medical Center. “I’m proud of these ladies. I’m proud that they’re doing this service for their community.”

Tracy calls donors like Emily “superheroes.”

“Every time a baby has Emily’s milk, it’s amazing. It’s just miraculous,” she says.

Making milk donation easy and local

Providence Medford Medical Center serves as a local milk drop site in partnership with Northwest Mothers Milk Bank, making donation simple and accessible for families in southern Oregon.

After donors sign up through the milk bank, Tracy carefully packs and ships frozen donations to Portland, where the milk is pasteurized and distributed to hospitals across the Northwest.

In 2025,  Providence Medford Medical Center was recognized with a certificate of appreciation for collecting 4,137 ounces of donor milk — each ounce representing our committment to compassionate care.

“I’m just so thankful there are people who want to do this,” Tracy says.

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