Thanks for the comments Bev. 
<Riordan and Auerbach (l993) resulted in the authors recommending that
"colostrum should be given to babies of diabetic mothers as soon as
possible after birth",  they stated that "colostrum helps to stabilise the
infant's blood sugar".>
 I agree with you that the donor milk is not as good as colostrum, but it can be no worse than formula, which is what the hospital will use.  As an independent midwife I am not the primary carer, and the management of this baby will be as per standard protocol unless the mother insists on a reasonable alternative.

The doctor involved did not seem thrilled with the plan - he pointed out to me that using another woman's milk is not without risk.  I reminded him that using anything other than the mother's milk carries a certain risk.  We agreed that our goal is early and effective breastfeeding thereby avoiding the need for donor milk if possible.

Joy Johnston
Midwife IBCLC
Melbourne, Australia