When 2021 rolled around, it found Ben and Lindsey (Shankles) Ramon – better known as Mrs. Ramon – living in Burneyville with son Grayson. Shortly after the new year, the Ramons found out they would soon have a little addition to their family. Mrs. Ramon gave birth to Jonah on September 17, 2021, and made the choice to breast feed her son until he was a year old.
Ramon, a Marietta High School computer/STEM teacher, knew that to do that, she would have to pump breast milk when she returned to school. It would be a commitment, but one that she was willing to make, believing it would be the best, most healthy option for her baby.
“Since I went back to school, I’ve been exclusively pumping,” she said, “and I am fortunate to work in a school where I have the resources to do that.”
It hasn’t always been easy, to take the time to pump during her busy school day. In addition to learning how to fit that time into schedule, she also quickly learned that she was producing more milk that Jonah, who is a healthy little chunk of a baby, was consuming.
“I had all this milk stored and Jonah wasn’t going to get to it before it spoiled,” she said. “It was about eight hours of pumping, and I didn’t want to waste the milk or my time.”
In a Facebook post, a friend mentioned an organization called Mother’s Milk, and it caught Ramon’s attention.
The Oklahoma Mother’s Milk Bank exists so moms like Ramon can share excess milk with babies who need mother’s milk to get the same healthy start that Jonah had. For various reasons, that milk can’t come from their own moms but instead is delivered via safe donor milk.
Oklahoma has one of the highest rates of preterm birth in the nation, with one in seven babies born premature. Years of research have showed that the use of human milk increases survival rates and betters the development of these babies, helping them leave the hospital sooner and lead fuller, healthier lives.
So there Ramon was with 320 ounces of milk stored in her freezer. Her research into OMMB led her to realize that she wanted to donate that milk to help those preterm babies. That decision made, Ramon began to dig into the process, finding out what she needed to do to make the donation.
“I found the Oklahoma Mother’s Milk Bank and started down what ended up feeling like a rabbit hole,” remarked Ramon. “I had to fill out an application and they did an extensive interview on the phone. They have to know your eating habits and plenty of other things to qualify you for donation.”
The phone interview passed, the next hoop was bloodwork and paperwork from a physician, attesting to the mother’s health and their baby’s. Ramon was helped in the process by Dr. Jeffrey Rother, of Ardmore, who filled out paperwork, letting OMMB know that both Lindsey and Jonah are heathy, and that Jonah is gaining weight on his mom’s milk.
“There was a lot that went into the application process,” Ramon stated. “It’s a good three weeks’ worth of getting all the legwork done. They’re very selective and not everybody can donate.”
Once she had been cleared to make the donation, Ramon was given a donor number, which she used to label the milk she packaged in freezer bags. She then delivered the milk to the Carter County Health Department in Ardmore, the local drop-off for OMMB.
Ramon was told that her donation will be used in Oklahoma, fed to babies in neonatal intensive care units, or NICUs. Because babies who end up in NICUs come so early, their moms usually can’t pump enough milk to keep up with demand, so donated milk is fed to those babies.
“There’s a preparation process, not pasteurization, but something like it, that they use to get the milk ready for the babies, and then they use a tube to feed them,” Ramon explained. “Breast milk has antibodies that make it so much healthier than formula, so the babies gain weight and get out of the NICU faster. If it’s anything to go by, Jonah hasn’t even had a cold, so I hope the babies that get my milk can someday be as healthy as he is.”
Ramon has more milk stored in the freezer. She plans to hold onto it for a little while, just to make sure that she has enough to get Jonah to his first birthday, and then she plans to donate again before she weans him.
Ramon said she wouldn’t have been in the position to be able to make this valuable donation without a great support system, one that includes her husband, plenty of other family members, friends and colleagues.
“It’s a lot. There are days that it’s exhausting, and I have to press through that,” she stated. “A lot of days, I feel like I’m raising my two children plus the 120 that I’m teaching, and sometimes it just wears me out, but I keep going because that’s what you have to do.
“For me, just knowing how much work and time went into pumping that milk, I feel fortunate to be able to donate it and help other babies have a chance to get a good start.”