ST. LOUIS 鈥 Hospitals have long provided donor breast milk for sick newborns in neonatal intensive care units, but now SSM Health hospitals are the first to expand the free service to include all patients at its birth centers in the St. 亚洲无码 region.
The hospitals include DePaul, St. Clare, St. Mary鈥檚 and St. Joseph hospitals.
The aim, hospital officials say, is to support patients who choose to breastfeed but, for a variety of reasons, are unable to do so right after giving birth, said Melissa Liebhart, lactation consultant for SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children鈥檚 Hospital.
For example, Liebhart said, patients may have had a difficult delivery or have a medical condition such as Type 1 diabetes that can delay or reduce milk production. The baby may also have trouble latching or feeding.
鈥淎 lot of people think that everyone can produce milk right away, but sometimes there are circumstances where moms might need additional interventions,鈥 she said.
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By making pasteurized donor human milk available in addition to formula, these new moms have a choice in how they can bridge the gap until they are able to breastfeed on their own.
鈥淭hey can work on building their supply while their baby still gets some donor milk, and then once the mom鈥檚 supply comes up, they would stop using the donor milk or the formula,鈥 Liebhart said.
Donor milk is routinely available in intensive care because it can be lifesaving for premature and fragile babies. Breast milk is easily digested and provides optimal nutrition and protection against organisms and disease. It contains growth factors that protect immature tissue and promote healing.
that hospitalized babies given donor milk instead of formula are less likely to suffer fatal complications or infections and spend less time in the hospital.
But new moms of healthy babies choose to breastfeed for many of the same reasons. , babies fed human milk have a lower risk of asthma, obesity, type 1 diabetes, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). They also have fewer ear infections and stomach bugs.
Rebecca Dubberke, 37, of Arnold, said having donor milk as an option helped establish her breastfeeding success after the birth of her second child at St. Mary鈥檚 Hospital on Aug. 19.
Dubberke鈥檚 baby was born a little early, at 37 weeks, and he struggled with some minor breathing issues. His first attempt at breastfeeding was delayed and he had trouble latching on.
鈥淚t just allowed us to have that extra time to help him learn how to breastfeed more effectively on his own without having to use formula to supplement while we were waiting for my milk to come in,鈥 she said.
In addition, Dubberke said, she has type 1 diabetes, which meant her baby鈥檚 blood sugar levels can fluctuate and take up to a day to stabilize after birth. Feeding him with more easily digested donor milk helped keep his levels from dropping and prevented him from having to transfer to intensive care, she said.
鈥淭he donor milk being available was a wonderful opportunity because we were able to use that as a way to avoid using formula, which was important to me, and also keep him out of the NICU and keep him in our room with us,鈥 Dubberke said.
Having her baby in the room, she said, helped them keep up the practice.
鈥淚t gave me the confidence that I needed to continue trying to breastfeed and gave him the time to kind of learn how to do it,鈥 she said. 鈥淪o, and now, we鈥檙e breastfeeding exclusively.鈥
Because the days after birth can be a critical time in establishing breastfeeding success, Liebhart said postpartum patients have found it 鈥渞eassuring and comforting鈥 to have donor milk available just in case.
鈥淚f their goal is to exclusively breastfeed, and then there鈥檚 some hiccups right after birth, it can be overwhelming, and this is just one thing that takes the stress level out of it and lets them know they are fully supported,鈥 Liebhart said.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a few moms say that it actually encouraged them to keep trying and to keep up latching and pumping and bottle feeding and doing all they can.鈥
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization for the first six months. , about 55% of babies are breastfed through 6 months and 29% are exclusively breastfed, according to CDC data from 2021. , it鈥檚 about 60% and 27% respectively.
SSM Health gets its donor milk from , a nonprofit based in Indianapolis, which receives human milk from s to pasteurize, freeze and distribute throughout the United States.
Once screened, donors can ship their milk to The Milk Bank using its free supplies or drop their donation off at a that will package and ship it. The St. 亚洲无码 area has six depot sites, including Cardinal Glennon Children鈥檚 Hospital. Learn more at .
Sarah Long, clinical director for The Milk Bank, said she is excited to be able to expand access to human milk and promote optimal health outcomes for more new moms.
鈥淲hile providing pasteurized donor human milk to fragile NICU infants remains our top priority,鈥 Long said, 鈥渢hrough our sustainable models and the generosity of our donors, we can extend access to well-baby and postpartum units with short-term supplementation needs.鈥