Serena Williams donates leftover breast milk, prompting jokes that she's creating future tennis stars
Williams gave birth to her second child in August 2023.
Tennis legend Serena Williams is donating some of her leftover breast milk to strangers.
Williams, who gave birth to her second child, a daughter named Adira River, in August, shared Wednesday on Instagram that she had leftover breast milk from a recent trip, and chose to donate it to help others.
"I'm really excited to donate some breast milk that I have leftover from my trip in New York to people who really need it," Williams can be heard saying in a video that shows her opening a freezer where the breast milk is stored. "It'll be anonymous, but I'm super excited to just help in some way."
Williams wrote in the video's caption that she was screened before being approved to donate. She did not name the organization to which she plans to donate her breast milk.
The prospect of Williams's breast milk being anonymously donated to babies was enough for her followers to note how lucky those unknowing babies would be.
When Williams stepped away from professional tennis in 2022, she was a 23-time Grand Slam winner, former No. 1-ranked women's tennis player and four-time Olympic gold medalist. The now-42-year-old tennis superstar turned pro at just 14 in 1995.
"That's G.O.A.T. Milk!," one commenter wrote.
"Some kids backhand just got stronger," wrote another commenter.
Other commenters called Williams's breast milk the "milk of champions," "liquid gold" and "golden milk," while another noted the babies who receive it will "be drinking from greatness."
"The kid will never hear the end of it," wrote another commenter. "'I gave you Serena Williams milk and you only got a B+?' 'I gave you Serena Williams milk and you only got the bronze medal?' 'I gave you Serena Williams milk and you won't do your chores?'"
The person ended their comment by writing, "Joking aside, that is a wonderful gift."
That sentiment was echoed by many more of Williams' followers, who applauded her donation. Many people also commented about how much donated breast milk helped their own children when they were infants.
Research shows donated breast milk is not a direct equivalent of a mom's own breast milk, but it's better than formula for babies, Diane Spatz, director of the lactation program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, previously told ABC News.
The Mothers' Milk Bank that Spatz leads at CHOP is part of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), an organization that voluntarily oversees nonprofit milk banks in the United States that supply donated breast milk to babies who are medically in need. There are only 27 HMBANA-endorsed milk banks across the U.S.
Spatz and other experts say it's critically important families who do choose to get donated breast milk know how to access it in the safest way possible.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends against feeding babies breast milk that was acquired online or through an individual, according to guidelines on its website.
Parents who have consulted with a health care provider and decided to feed their baby with donated human milk should only "use milk from a source that has screened its milk donors and taken other precautions to ensure the safety of its milk," according to the FDA.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life, followed thereafter by breastfeeding plus other appropriate, nutritious foods, citing a body of evidence that shows breast milk is nutritionally, economically and ecologically superior to formula or other breast milk substitutes.
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