When a baby is born, a mother鈥檚 breast milk helps the child grow safe and healthy. But many new moms have trouble breastfeeding their newborns.
A newly opened dispensary at HSHS St. Elizabeth鈥檚 Hospital in O鈥橣allon, Illinois, is offering donated milk to families in the Metro East who need breast milk for their babies.
The hospital opened the dispensary after a lactation nurse found many of her patients were having trouble breastfeeding but didn鈥檛 know where to find donor milk in the region, said Amanda Schaefer, the manager of the hospital鈥檚 women and infants center.
鈥淭o my knowledge, from when you cross over into Illinois from Missouri, and then all the way up until Carbondale, there's not a dispensary,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o this is a very wide range of people that we can reach.鈥�
Children鈥檚 health advocates and medical experts 鈥� including the American Academy of Pediatrics 鈥� recommend newborns of life. Breast milk is associated with health benefits, including lower rates of certain infections.
But some mothers either can鈥檛 breastfeed or don鈥檛 create enough milk for their babies, Schaefer said. Others need a few days to get the hang of breastfeeding before they can nurse on their own.
That鈥檚 a situation in which donated milk can be helpful, said Susan Urbanski, program manager for Mothers' Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes, the nonprofit milk bank that collects and pasteurizes the milk from donors around the region before it's sent back to St. Elizabeth鈥檚 and other dispensaries.
鈥淢aybe your baby is having some issues with blood sugar or a little bit of jaundice. Or maybe you haven't quite sorted out how to breastfeed yet,鈥� she said. 鈥淪upplementing with donor milk can help them to meet their own feeding goals without having to supplement with formula.鈥�
, said Dee Kassing, a leader with the La Leche League of Greater St. Louis, a group of volunteers who teach new families about breastfeeding.
鈥淏reast milk is made for human babies. Cow鈥檚 milk is made for cow鈥檚 babies,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have different immune systems 鈥� breast milk is designed for who we are.鈥�
Often, donated milk is mixed from different donor mothers, Kassing said. Because each donor has a slightly different immune system, the milk that鈥檚 sent to dispensaries can be very beneficial in helping a newborn gain protection against infections and other health problems.
People don鈥檛 need to be a patient at the hospital to use the milk bank, Schaefer said. If community members show an emergency need for milk, they鈥檒l be able to buy the milk for $25 for a 4-ounce bottle 鈥� about two days鈥� worth of milk for a newborn baby.
The milk dispensary is designed for short-term use, she said. People can only buy 10 bottles at a time. The milk is kept frozen until it鈥檚 ready to use.
The milk at the St. Elizabeth's dispensary comes from donors around the Midwest. Before it鈥檚 bottled and sold at the hospital, it's sent to a Mothers' Milk Western Great Lakes processing facility in northern Illinois, where it's pasteurized to remove viruses and bacteria. A third party tests the milk for safety, then it鈥檚 sent back to dispensaries in Illinois and Wisconsin.
鈥淭he milk bank is doing all the testing, the pasteurizing, to make sure it's safe for the community,鈥� Schaefer said. 鈥淎nd then these babies get to reap the benefits of that milk, which is amazing.鈥�
