Is your freezer overflowing with more pumped milk that your baby will need? Consider donating your breast milk to a baby in need. Some mothers of ill and premature infants are unable to provide enough milk for their babies, and these infants can benefit greatly from banked donor human milk.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOCAL MILK BANKING
The first milk bank opened in Vienna Austria in 1909. The first milk bank in the US opened at the Boston Floating Children’s Hospital (now part of Tufts-New England Medical Center) in 1911.
There have been numerous milk banks in hospitals and other medical centers throughout New England since that time. The most recent milk bank, located at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, was opened in 1975 and was closed in 2001. Since then there has not been a milk bank in the Northeast region.
In March, 2006 a small group of nurses, mothers, and lactation consultants met to begin the development of the Mothers’ Milk Bank of New England (MMBNE). Since then, the group grew to include physicians, researchers, city planners, doulas, midwives and many others who worked together to make the Mothers’ Milk Bank of New England a reality, to serve babies, families and hospitals throughout New England and beyond. The new facility is located in Newton, MA and is one of only a dozen HMBNA milk banks in the nation.
“Currently, we receive processed milk from the Mothers’ Milk Bank of Ohio and dispense it to hospitals and families throughout New England, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Once we are processing our own milk, these hospitals and families will receive milk processed at MMBNE,” reports Naomi Bar-Yam, Executive Director of MMBNE. The Milk Bank of New England hopes to begin processing locally donated milk later this fall.
FACTS ABOUT MILK BANKING
Q. What is a mothers’ milk bank?
A. A mothers’ milk bank collects, processes, tests and distributes donated human milk. Some milk banks are hospital affiliated, others are independent entities that serve the whole community. MMBNE is a non-profit independent milk bank operating under the guidelines of the Human Milk Bank Association of North America (HMBANA).
Q. Why is banked milk better than specialized formulas?
A. Human milk is designed for human babies. Specialized formulas for premature babies are modified from cows’ milk and they are very harsh on the delicate digestive systems of premature newborns. For example, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is 10 -17% more likely if a preemie receives formula. NEC can lead to lifelong gastrointestinal problems, and is largely preventable by feeding babies human milk.
Q. Is milk banking safe? A. Multiple steps are taken to make sure that banked milk is safe for the vulnerable babies it will feed. Screening of milk donors is similar to blood donation screenings and includes an interview regarding health behaviors, letters from mothers’ and babies’ physicians and blood tests to detect communicable diseases. Milk is heat-treated and must show no bacterial growth. Milk is shipped frozen overnight.
In more than 40 years of modern milk banking, there has never been a documented case of an infant being harmed by donor milk from an HMBANA milk bank.
Interested in donating now? Here’s how, according to Naomi: “It’s best to contact us now at info@milkbankne.org . If we are not yet taking donors, we will be able to give potential donors information on the donor process and refer them to another milk bank.”
