Did you know that when a mother’s own milk is unavailable, donor human milk has been proven to improve the health and survival of fragile infants? Preterm infants are most in need of human milk, yet due to stress and other complications, their moms are the least likely to be able to provide their own milk in the earliest days of life.
It is important to be aware that mothers with a surplus of milk can help fill this need and give premature infants a better chance to grow and thrive. Donor milk is especially protective against a life-threatening condition, common in preemies, called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). A human milk diet is estimated to lower the risk of this condition by a whopping 79%!
Any nursing mom can be screened to become a donor through a nonprofit community milk bank. The process is easy, similar to donating blood, and the deep personal satisfaction that comes from helping improve the health of another baby is great.
New Yorkers become donors by contacting Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast (MMBNE), a nonprofit milk bank operating under the guidelines of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), whose mission it is to provide safely pasteurized donor human milk to babies in need throughout the Northeast. MMBNE has been providing milk to New York babies since 2012. Since then 331 mothers from 32 New York counties have donated milk to MMBNE, including from all 5 NYC boroughs!
There are four simple steps to donating:
- 10 minute phone screening
- consents and a health history form
- free blood draw (arranged and paid for by MMBNE)
- free shipping of milk (MMBNE provides insulated boxes and pickup by FedEx with overnight shipping to the lab)
Previously frozen milk is accepted as long as it has been stored for no more than 3 months in a refrigerator freezer or 6 months in a stand alone freezer. There is no limit to how much one can donate, but one must commit to providing a minimum of 150 oz (about 30 bags) over time. The minimum amount does NOT have to be sent all at once, and is waived for bereaved mothers.
New York families have greatly benefited from these donations. In addition to nine other hospitals across the state, NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan and Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn now offer donor milk from MMBNE as standard of care in their NICUs and nurseries. MMBNE is working closely with many more hospitals, particularly in NYC, to meet the requirements necessary to prescribe donor human milk to their patients.
To learn more about donating and receiving milk, call MMBNE’s main office at 617-527-6263, or contact their New York Outreach Coordinator, Amber Star Merkens, at 212-376-4640.
@MMBNorthEast
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