Blog
How breastmilk donations benefit families
Human milk is the gold standard when it comes to infant feeding and nutrition. However when babies are born prematurely, due to stressors associated with premature birth, mom’s milk supply can be slower to “come in” and, later, is not robust enough to meet the caloric and nutrient needs of the premature infant.
What’s more, premature and micro preemie babies often need a human milk fortifier added to mom’s breast milk, or donor milk if mom’s isn’t available, to give them the extra fat and calories they need, and otherwise wouldn’t get from breastmilk alone.
Donor Breastmilk
Nursing mothers have a big opportunity to help these tiny miracles. You don’t have to pump and dump. If you find you have more breastmilk than your baby will ever need, you can donate your excess supply to help sick preemies in need.
Without breastmilk donations, an all breastmilk-based fortifier product wouldn’t be available, and the only other option for preemies would be cow milk-based formula products. Donations give critically ill, premature infants the opportunity to receive the nutrition they need to grow big and strong, while being fed human milk exclusively.
Liquid Gold
Baby Vivian was born on October 8, 2012 at one pound, four ounces. She spent four months in a level three NICU. (Level of NICUs varies by hospital, but typically level three NICUs care for babies born at less than 28 weeks, provide respiratory support, and deliver IV fluids. It’s the highest level of neonatal care.)
She avoided contracting any infections during her stay, and had access to various innovative preemie advancements, such as the Prolacta human-milk based fortifier (Prolact+ H2MF). The fortifier was added to Vivian’s mom’s milk “to help her effectively grow from her severely small birth weight without serious complications,” said her mother.
“The doctors at the hospital conduct research all the time on new premature innovative options and techniques for dealing with premature infants. We felt grateful to learn how they were able to introduce this fortifier to our NICU. They recognized the value in offering a more expensive, yet highly effective fortifier that has been linked to reducing the rate of life threatening GI infections like NEC that often plague severely premature babies,” said Vivian’s mom.
Vivian was the first baby in this NICU to receive the HMF made by Prolacta, as it became available at their NICU the month she was born. She was switched to the 100% human milk fortifier when she showed difficulty tolerating a bovine-based milk fortifier.
Your generous breastmilk donations help critically ill preemies like baby Vivian. A 100% human milk diet has been shown to reduce the risk of an often fatal condition in preemies called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), which occurs when the intestines begin to fail. Human milk also benefits a preemie’s gastrointestinal and brain development. While the cost of the human milk-based human milk fortifier is more than a cow milk-derived product, studies have shown lower overall hospitalization costs for hospitals using the human milk-derived fortifier.
How to Donate Breastmilk
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastmilk for the first year of a baby’s life. However, for those born prematurely, they recommend that human milk, whether mothers own or pasteurized donor human milk (if mother’s milk is unavailable) is given. Some women are blessed with excess milk. If you are one of them, you might be a perfect candidate to donate. Prolacta Bioscience partners with a number of milk banks, providing mothers with the option to choose.
The milk collected at these banks goes through rigorous tests for diseases, viruses, drugs, and alcohol. Once it has passed these tests, it is turned into human milk nutritional products, and they are only available for hospitalized preemies. Without these products, preemies would receive fortifiers made from cow’s milk and wouldn’t receive the many benefits of a 100% breastmilk diet.
Becoming a donor is a five-step process, and if you have a well-fed, happy, and growing baby AND have excess milk, you may be the perfect candidate for donating. Find a milk bank through Prolacta and follow these 5 steps:
- Complete an online application.
- Have your doctor sign a form stating that you and your baby are healthy and it’s okay to donate your excess breastmilk.
- Provide a cheek cell sample using a swab. We will create a profile for you, so that when we receive your milk, we can match it to you.
- Verify the freezer temperature.
- Provide a blood sample. We arrange for an examiner to go to your house to take the sample.
Once you successfully complete these steps, you will be considered a qualified donor. The milk bank will provide you with breastmilk storage bags, instructions on how to pack and send your milk, as well as a prepaid FedEx shipping label and a cooler. Donating your “liquid gold” is a beautiful, pure and selfless act only a mother can do for another.