After navigating two complicated pregnancies, postpartum preeclampsia, and a NICU stay, Shelbea Schoell found purpose in helping fragile babies thrive. Now, she’s inspiring other mothers to do the same.
When Shelbea Schoell welcomed her first daughter Hazel in 2022, she had no idea her journey into motherhood would eventually lead her to donate thousands of ounces of life-saving breast milk. As a first-time mom raised primarily by her grandmother, she hadn’t grown up with a mother to guide her through caring for a newborn or breastfeeding. And with a major infant formula recall dominating the news cycle during her hospital stay, she worried about feeding her baby if breastfeeding didn’t work out.
Finding purpose during a difficult postpartum experience
Shelbea gave birth at 38 weeks due to preeclampsia, and after bringing Hazel home on Easter Sunday, she returned to the emergency room just two days later with postpartum preeclampsia. Separated from her newborn, Shelbea was determined to continue breastfeeding.
A compassionate nurse and physician secured a breast pump from the maternity ward for her, and her husband collected her expressed milk from the hospital to bring home for baby Hazel. Shelbea’s nurse would deliver the milk to his car and return with updates about the baby.
Despite everything, Shelbea continued producing more milk than her daughter needed. After asking her doctor what to do with all the excess, she learned about milk banking for the first time. At the same time, Shelbea was struggling with postpartum depression and feeling alone without her mother or grandmother to guide her. Making the decision to donate her breast milk gave her something positive to focus on.
“If I could get my daughter chunky, I wondered how I could help other babies get chunky too,” she recalls thinking. What started as a way to use her extra milk became a meaningful source of purpose and pride.
A second pregnancy and a new perspective on donor milk
When Shelbea became pregnant with her second daughter, Meadow, she hoped for a smoother experience. But her blood pressure began rising around 22 to 24 weeks. She ultimately delivered at 36 weeks, and Meadow required care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Once again, Shelbea found herself pumping while separated from her newborn. Her husband carried tiny syringes of expressed milk to the NICU, where Meadow spent a week under excellent care. For the first time, Shelbea saw the impact of milk donation up close when she met another mother who couldn’t produce enough breast milk for her baby. This only strengthened her determination to help, and she set an ambitious personal goal: donating 8,000 ounces of breast milk. “Something about seeing this up close made me want to ensure my milk could stay local to the Central Valley which at the time was struggling to find milk donors. Our hospital staff informed me that the milk collected there through Mothers’ Milk Bank California actually stays with some of the babies in their NICU. I loved that,” Shelbea recalls.
8,000 ounces of love
Shelbea’s first cooler contained an incredible 700 ounces of donated breast milk. And she kept going while she balanced caring for two young daughters and nursing Meadow.
By year’s end, she had reached her goal: 8,000 ounces of breast milk for donation. “Despite struggling with pregnancy, the NICU, and postpartum depression, I felt so much purpose in all of it. Being able to help others helped me feel so much better, too.”
Inspiring other moms to give back
Shelbea’s impact extends far beyond the milk she donated. Throughout her journey, she not only educated herself about breastfeeding, pumping, and challenges like mastitis – she also began sharing her experiences on social media and in local community groups. She grew closer to Mothers’ Milk Bank California by getting to know our team, attending special events, and getting a peek behind the scenes at the milk banking process. Her story resonated with other mothers; by answering questions online and speaking candidly about the challenges of motherhood, Shelbea helped women feel more informed and less alone. Some were even inspired to become donors themselves.
Shelbea’s advocacy work helped inspire our Luminary Circles program, which celebrates donor mothers who empower and encourage another family to begin their own milk donation journey. Her story reminds us that milk donation is about more than ounces collected – it’s about mothers supporting mothers, families helping families, and finding purpose through shared experiences. Thank you, Shelbea, for your strength, generosity, and incredible gift of lifesaving milk!
Have extra breast milk? You could make a difference for a baby in need. Learn more about becoming a donor today.
