Steady growth of breastmilk donations benefit preemies

Breastfeeding and human milk are the gold standards for infant feeding and nutrition, which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby’s life. If an infant is born prematurely, the AAP recommends human milk, whether mothers own, or pasteurized donor human milk, is given.

Breastmilk contains white blood cells that fight infection and stimulate the developing immune system to protect the baby. Premature infants in particular are prone to infection, so they benefit from breastmilk’s immunological properties.

Studies have shown premature infants who are fed human breastmilk exclusively have a lower incidence of developing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), an often fatal infection of the intestines. Texas Children’s Hospital follows the recommendation from the AAP and has a protocol of feeding 100 percent breastmilk to NICU babies weighing less than 3.3 pounds.

"Since implementation of our feeding protocol, the NEC rates in our NICU have decreased from the national average of 8 to 10 percent to just 2 to 4 percent," said Dr. Stephen E. Welty, chief of neonatology at Texas Children's and professor of pediatrics-neonatology in the Department of Pediatrics at BCM. "Medical science has also proven that there are so many other health benefits of human breastmilk for newborns."

To ensure these tiny babies get the nutrition they need, the hospital launched a donor milk bank, guaranteeing a steady supply of standardized donor breastmilk to critically ill infants. They contract with Prolacta to ensure the highest quality control in testing and pasteurizing donor breastmilk for infant feeding.

Milk collected through the Texas Children’s milk bank is shipped to Prolacta, where it is tested, formulated, standardized and pasteurized into human milk nutritional products for use in the NICU. Over 92,000 ounces of milk have been collected from donations from moms in the Houston area through this program.

These donations have enabled the hospital to feed more than 1,000 critically ill newborns and more than 700 infants delivered at the hospital during the past year. According to a recent news release, the steady growth of the hospital’s donor milk bank has allowed them to implement a program “offering donor milk to healthy newborns delivered at the hospital’s Pavilion for Women in support of breastfeeding moms who need supplementation during the important early days of the baby’s life”.

The hospital also promotes the benefits of breastfeeding, and provides support through certified lactation consultants and peer counselors. Many moms donate their excess breastmilk to help those babies in need. Through these donations, critically ill preemies are fed human milk exclusively and are able to get the nutrition they need to grow. To learn more about the Texas Children’s Hospital donor milk program, watch this video: