A Northland mother is calling on dairy-free breastmilk donors to help feed her baby girl, after the māmā suffered three serious cardiac events due to a rare condition, Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection.
Melissa Crockett-Joyoue from Leigh, Wellsford, received open heart surgery and a double bypass late last year as the condition affected the most important arteries in her heart.
However, the condition can occur again in the next six months with one of the key triggers being breastfeeding, so the mother has had to wean her baby girl, Hinemārie, off breastmilk.
“I cannot start breastfeeding again as the hormones are linked to SCAD. She is not able to have any formula except for Neocate - and she 100% refuses it," the mother wrote in a post on Facebook.
Crockett-Joyoue has taken to Facebook in an attempt to get her baby fed and kept alive.
In a post she wrote, “We are introducing solids as fast as we can, but with the gut allergy the only way to test them is to feed her 1 tsp for 3 days in a row and see if she starts vomiting.”
The mother says a severe reaction can risk vomiting so bad that her baby could go into shock.
“We have been relying on breastmilk donations to keep her alive!”
Crockett-Joyoue says they’ve had great amount of donors so far and are grateful for the help but they are needing more.
“At the moment she needs 600ml a day of breast milk in addition to the solids that she can safely eat. We have had some great donors helping us out, but we need more, she says.
“Whether it’s sharing a freezer stash or pumping for us, we appreciate anything. The big issue is, your diet must be 100% dairy & egg free.”
If you would like to help this family visit the Helping Hearts NZ Facebook page for more information.