I recently received an e-mail update/newsletter from the milk bank i work with that described continued shortages of donor milk. The situation is so dire that they describe being short by several thousand ounces PER WEEK of the demand of the hospitals they work with. This situation is so bad, they are starting to offer incentives for referring donor moms.
To put things into perspective, let's look at how this divides up. They listed a shortage of 3000 ounces for this week. A baby weighing 6.5 lbs takes in 18 ounces per day. That amount that they are short could feed 166 babies in a day, or one baby for 166 days, or 5 babies for a month. Now take into consideration that most preemies that receive this milk are much smaller than 6.5 lbs and take in less milk. Think how far that amount goes. Or look at it and consider how desperate the need really is.
You may ask what the big deal is when formula is available. Well, the truth is, formula is inadequate. Babies in general stand the best fighting chance from receiving breastmilk to keep them healthy and protect them from pathogens. As many moms know hospitals and doctors offices can pose risks to young children with little or no immune system because that's where other children go to be treated for illnesses. Combine that with a pre-mature baby whose system isn't as developed as it should be and you aren't just dealing with a new immune system, but the whole body that is developmentally behind. Preemies are especially susceptible to necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) which basically equates to death of their intestinal tract. The longer babies are kept in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) the longer they are at risk for getting NEC and the higher the mortality rate. The goal is to get babies as healthy as possible in the shortest amount of time possible so they can go home as soon as possible. The fastest way to do this is to feed breastmilk to these babies. Sadly, in many cases the early birth of the baby often doesn't allow the mother's system to catch up hormonally so she is making milk as she would with a full term baby. Also, given the need for the babies to be monitored and restricted from potentially harmful pathogens, these babies don't get the full benefits of skin to skin contact and unlimited access to the breast which also can inhibit optimum milk production for the mama. This means that donor milk is the preemies' best chance of getting to a healthy weight and developmentally mature enough to go home in the shortest amount if time (not to mention the immune components of breastmilk that help form a protective barrier from NEC).
Lives can be saved from donor milk, but if it is unavailable, in cases where the birth mom is unable to provide milk, formula must be used. This means the preemies may remain in the NICU for longer and don't have the added protection from NEC because formula cannot provide any immune components. Donors are vitally important. Spread the word to healthy nursing mamas you know that may be able to help. A little can go a long way.
No comments:
Post a Comment