A memorial tree honoring the lost babies of breast milk donors keeps growing in Southwest Michigan

By donating their breast milk, moms in Southwest Michigan are transforming their pain into helping other moms—and their babies.

“There is no foot too small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world.”

Those are the words that are inscribed on part of the memorial art installation at Bronson Mothers’ Milk Bank in Kalamazoo, honoring breast milk donor mothers whose babies died during pregnancy or soon after being born. 

The first memorial tree was installed in 2015 and displayed the names of 130 babies who had died in the community. At the time of this writing, at least 25 names have been added since a second tree was installed in Bronson’s North Pavilion in December 2024.

Milk Bank manager Lindsay Starks said that the memorial trees are the least Mothers’ Milk can do to honor donor moms.

“It’s pretty remarkable that these moms will have lost a baby and call us two days later and say, ‘I have a freezer full of milk, what do I do with this?’” said Starks in a recent interview with ‘Gander Newsroom. 

Related: Need milk? Michigan woman donates over 160 gallons of breast milk in SW Michigan

Once donated, the breast milk is distributed among 23 hospitals in Michigan, some with neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and mother-baby units. Eight hospitals outside of Michigan also receive donor milk from Mothers’ Milk. 

In 2024, Mothers’ Milk collected 379,000 ounces of breast milk from 444 donors—the most the milk bank has ever received.

“Letting our donors know where the milk goes and how many babies it helps and things like that have been an important part of their grieving journey,” said Starks. 

“They are extra special, and we honor them as much as we can.”