breast milk banks - something US women don't have yet.

[ensho]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JE01Df03.html


Growing pains for India's milk banks


In India, where infant mortality rates are among the world's worst - 57 deaths per 1,000 live births - and infant deaths in the newborn's first month is a disquieting 43 per 1,000, preventive medical measures can go a long way in saving lives.

It was towards this aim that Asia's first human milk bank was set up at the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital (LTMGH) in Mumbai in 1989. Since then, some 25 human milk banks across India - most of them sited in the western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat - have been performing vital services for premature babies requiring temporary intervention in cases of delayed lactation, abandonment or illness. These banks have also been lifesavers for infants whose undernourished mothers may be too feeble to breast feed.

"As incidents of low birth weight and pre-term babies are very high in India, it is imperative for the survival of these babies that constant and adequate supply of milk is guaranteed to them. Milk banks can perform a critical function in such a scenario," says Dr Priti Vyas, a senior obstetrician at Fortis Hospital, New Delhi.

Non-lactation, according to the doctor, can be triggered by stress during pregnancy or during delivery. It can also be caused by consumption of alcohol or smoking, postpartum hemorrhaging or premature birth.

In such cases, experts believe giving human milk to a pre-term baby on a ventilator can not only help save its life but also hold off life-threatening ailments like asthma, diabetes, infections and allergies. Such milk may also be used to treat many conditions in Neonatal Intensive Care Units like prematurity, malabsorption, short-gut syndrome, intractable diarrhea, congenital anomalies, formula intolerance and immune deficiencies.

Global studies have demonstrated that breast milk is far superior to mass-produced formula milk. In fact, there have been specific studies to illustrate that formula-fed infants have a significantly lower IQ scores than those weaned on breast milk. The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund, made a joint statement in 1980 advising that "Where it's not possible for the biological mother to breast feed, the first alternative, if available, should be the use of human milk from other sources. Human milk banks should be made available in such situations."

-long snip-

The ISTP, which recently met in India, called for the adoption of new measures to strengthen safe motherhood and child survival services and the imperative need to institutionalize links at various levels to fill up gaps in the provision of health care. Effective and low-cost interventions, according to the ISTP, are urgently needed in this sector.

In such a scenario, establishing more human milk banks can be crucial in saving young children's lives.
------------------------------



healthy breast milk is the most important thing in the world - for the human specie.


(if we do have breast milk banks I haven't heard of it)

[Contrary1]

1. I think there are a few...

Several years ago, my sister-in-law's sister who for some reason I forget, delivered a baby she was unable to nurse. She ended up flying to Missouri, so that the baby could have breast milk.

I'm a little fuzzy on the details as to why the baby could not tolerate formula, but they were there probably 6 to 8 weeks.

[glowing]

2. Yeah, right... people are so scared of germs and other people, they

wouldn't even bother.. It would be a great thing to have though.. I bet cheaper than formula as well.

[Midlodemocrat]

3. I donated to one 17 years ago.

They DO exist, they're just not as plentiful as elsewhere.

[LeftyMom]

4. There are breast milk banks, but the milk is very expensive.

And is generally only alloted to very premature infants, either due to rationing of limited supply or because insurance won't cover it for healthy, term infants, even when the mother has died.

Many hospitals ran their own milk banks, but that ended in the 80's for fear of aids, and they weren't restored when testing became available, either because of the expense or because the availability of human milk was not seen as a priority. Now there are regional milk banks, but they operate on a much smaller scale, and are very inconvenient to donate to or pick up from, as many large cities don't even have a drop-off point for donations, so there isn't much demand or many donations. As a result, many people go with informal exchanges set up via pro-breastfeeding organizations and websites, and I've even seen donors post their milk on craigslist. As a result, excessive fear of the unlikely spread of aids (pregnant women are tested for aids and everything else under the sun) means that more babies in need are either given woefully inadequate substitutes for human milk, increasing their risk of death and disease even after weaning, or that they get donor milk with no formal screening at all.

[ensho]

6. thank you for this information - this need should have a light shown on it

more common knowledge on the subject. and action.

[Ilsa]

5. We have them in the US, but I don't know how easily the milk can be obtained.

I suspect a doctor's prescription is necessary, and it is probably reserved for the sickest and earliest babies in the NICU. Research indicates that NICU stays are shortened considerably and mortality is significantly decreased when human milk is given instead of formula.

I know that a donor is screened very intensively, and needs to provide at least 100 ounces of milk over a long period of time. It is a shame that more isn't done to get breastmilk to all preemies that need it.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

7. I seem to recall it being about $6 per ounce from breast milk banks in the U.S.

Which can get pretty expensive even for a newborn.

[ensho]

8. very expensive! (wonder how Canada handles it?)

nt

[cyberswede]

9. Univ of Iowa has one

I donated 5 years ago when my daughter was a baby (she ate MUCH less than her big brother, so I had plenty extra).

My mother donated at a hospital in Minnesota in the 1950s.

It's a fabulous opportunity to help, if you can.

http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/uichildrenshospital/milkbank/index.html