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The event honored mothers of infants who have passed away and donated their milk to support other women. Image by Andrew Vogler

UAMS Milk Bank Hosts Families for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month

Oct. 29, 2025 | The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Milk Bank recently welcomed families to acknowledge October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, a time for people to recognize the thousands of families who experience perinatal loss every year, and a time to remember the babies who have passed away.

The private event Oct. 23 honored the mothers of infants who have passed away and donated their milk to support other women who are experiencing lactation issues and unable to fully feed their infants.

During the event, Rebecca Sartini, DNP, RNC-NIC, clinical services manager for the High-Risk Perinatal Unit and Lactation Department, and Misty L. Virmani, M.D., executive medical director of the UAMS Milk Bank, associate professor of pediatrics and neonatology, and director of breastfeeding medicine, acknowledged the mothers and families present and their loss and sacrifice so that another baby could thrive.

“There are few gifts more profound than the one given by families who choose to donate milk after the heartbreaking loss of their baby — in the midst of unimaginable grief, they find a way to bring hope and healing to others,” said Virmani. “Through their generosity and the lifesaving gift of mother’s milk, their child’s love and legacy live on — nourishing fragile newborns and giving them the chance to thrive.”

Perinatal loss is unfortunately far too common an event. It is estimated that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage, and about 1 in 175 births in the United States are stillbirths. To help families who are experiencing this type of loss, UAMS offers support through the Love Lives: Perinatal Bereavement Program.

The Milk Bank relies on a network of women who donate their milk to help fragile preemies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) around the state. Many donations come from moms who produce more milk than their baby needs. But some donations come from women who lost a child during pregnancy or infancy.

To remember those losses and to honor a mother’s decision to donate her milk, the Milk Bank commissioned the My Love Lives On Memorial, an installation in the shape of a tree with its leaves being places to memorialize the names of the babies who have passed. During the evening, some mothers were able to place the names of their lost baby onto the memorial.

“We are deeply humbled to honor and remember these families and their beautiful babies,” said Virmani. “A leaf with each child’s name and date of birth will be added to our memorial tree to keep their legacy and the hope they give to others close to our hearts.”

Located in the Monroe Building just off UAMS’ main campus in Little Rock, the Milk Bank focuses on the health of mothers and newborns in Arkansas through encouragement and support of breastfeeding. The milk bank helps ensure a ready supply of donor milk for sick and vulnerable infants in NICUs around the state, shortening the time it takes for regional hospitals to receive critical milk supplies and improving outcomes for babies.

The Milk Bank opened in September 2023. In its first year, the Milk Bank program has experienced tremendous growth, supporting the creation of 15 new milk depots, bringing the total to 18 facilities where milk can be donated. Milk depots are designated spaces for women to donate milk, which is then sent to the Milk Bank for screening, pasteurization and nutritional analysis. After processing, milk is sent, according to need, to hospitals throughout Arkansas. Through this program, mothers in Arkansas can donate their milk, while also having a point of access for support if they need physical, emotional or spiritual care.