Elisabeth Anderson-Sierra, a mother of three from Portland, has a rare health condition that enables her to produce up to 1.5 gallons of breast milk daily. She told Insider that she was diagnosed with hyperlactation syndrome in 2014, wherein she generates around 200 ounces of breast milk, surpassing the 60 ounces needed to feed her seven-month-old son, Benjamin.
This photograph taken on July 25, 2018 shows a nurse holding a packet of breast milk stored in a freezer at a milk bank at Fortis La Femme hospital in the Indian capital New Delhi.
Donating Life-Sustaining Breast Milk to Needy Families
Elisabeth spends five hours each day using a breast pump, collecting enough milk to fill her kitchen freezer and two additional freezers in her garage. She donates this surplus milk to mothers who are unable to produce enough breast milk for their infants' survival.
According to MailOnline, she has donated a remarkable 54,000 fluid ounces of breast milk, earning her a Guinness World Record for the highest amount of breast milk donated to needy families. Diagnosed with hyperlactation syndrome shortly after giving birth to her first daughter in 2014, she started producing milk at just 14 weeks into her pregnancy, earlier than the typical 16 to 22 weeks.
Doctors performed tests and found that her pituitary gland was enlarged due to a hormonal shift during pregnancy, causing an excess of prolactin hormone responsible for milk production. Despite being offered medication to reduce prolactin, Elisabeth chose close monitoring to maintain her ability to nurse her baby.
By 20 weeks of being pregnant, she produced 30 ounces of milk daily, requiring washcloths to manage the excess. She began donating her surplus milk to local midwives' practices, a California-based milk bank, and mothers seeking help on Facebook.
Though she is content knowing her donations have helped many, Elisabeth is contemplating a double mastectomy to halt her hyperlactation. Her condition is rare, and its prevalence is not well-documented, varying among populations due to cultural norms and awareness among medical professionals.
During her pregnancy, the Anderson-Sierra family's kitchen freezer was so full that they needed industrial-sized freezers in the garage to accommodate the donated milk. Despite the record-breaking donations, Elisabeth found the process of producing milk more uncomfortable than pregnancy itself. The constant pumping and nursing schedule left her essentially housebound.
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What Is Hyperlactation?
Hyperlactation is a condition where an excessive milk supply causes discomfort or harm to either the mother or the baby, UK HealthCare explains in its website.
The condition can be a result of various factors, such as an oversupply of milk around the end of the first week of lactation when the body is unsure of the baby's needs and produces extra milk, which typically improves with time.
Moreover, it can be caused by excessive pumping, switching sides frequently during feedings or on a timed schedule, and having a large number of milk sacs or alveoli, which affects the rate of milk production. Additionally, when babies begin consuming solids and breastfeed less, it can contribute to hyperlactation.
Mothers with hyperlactation often experience consistently full and uncomfortable breasts after feeding, significant milk leakage between feedings, sore nipples due to latch difficulties, painful forceful letdown, and milk spraying when the baby detaches from the breast. Additionally, they may encounter frequent blocked ducts or mastitis, resulting in shooting pain within the breast.
On the other hand, hyperlactation in babies can cause various symptoms during feeding, including frequent choking, coughing, or sputtering, biting or clamping down on the nipple, short and restless feedings with arching back, frequent burping and gas, large green and frothy stools, frequent spitting up, rapid weight gain, and being unsatisfied between feedings.
The condition could improve within four to seven days. But in case it does not, it is best to reach out to a lactation consultant or the pediatrician.
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