A hospital in Rhode Island and a nonprofit breast milk bank from Massachusetts have teamed up to launch the Ocean State’s first human donor pasteurized milk program for families in need.
The Kent Hospital Women’s Care Center in us-regions, recently announced it launched the supplemental infant nutrition program with help from the Mother’s Milk Bank Northeast in Newtown, Massachusetts, according to a report in The Providence Journal.
Typically, the breast milk bank provides pasteurized donor human milk to premature and NICU infants.
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Yet a reported statement from the Kent Hospital Women’s Care Center noted the program now can provide milk to families “if supplementation is needed … until a mother’s own milk is available.”
The Human Milk Bank Association of North America (HMBANA) recognizes 31 milk banks in the U.S. The Mother’s Milk Bank Northeast in Newtown, Massachusetts, is one of the milk banks that have received accreditation.
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Pasteurization, the process of heating milk to kill off harmful bacteria and viruses, preserves most of the donor milk’s nutrients and immune properties, which are essential for a baby’s development.
The process is done to ensure that donated milk is healthy-living.
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Unpasteurized donor milk from unknown human sources runs “possible safety risks,” according to the FDA.
Potential risks may include exposure to infectious diseases, chemical contaminants or contamination via mishandling and improper storage if a donor “has not been adequately screened.”
The FDA parenting” target=”_blank”>recommends that parents consult< diet for an infant, resources published by the CDC indicate.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Kent Hospital Women’s Care Center and Mother’s Milk Bank Northeast for comment.
Breast milk donors who have extra milk they can spare can ship or drop off milk donations.
The hospital program announcement comes at a time when the nation has been facing an ongoing baby formula shortage, among other serious shortages.
Breast milk donors who have extra milk they can spare can ship or drop off milk donations to one of 28 depots Mother’s Milk Bank Northeast operates in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
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Alternatively, family-and-friends” target=”_blank”>donors can choose a milk bank<
Mother’s Milk Bank Northeast opened its doors in 2008 and has grown to serve more than 100 hospitals in 11 states with “over 10,000 donors to date,” the nonprofit’s website says.
