What are breast milk banks for?

Postnatal, Your questions

Did you read the first part of this article, Donating Breast Milk and Milk Banks?

Avez-vous lu la première partie de ce billet Le don de lait maternel et les banques de lait?

In Quebec today, hospitals require more than 4,000 litres of breast milk to meet the need of the more than 1,000 premature babies born every year. We know that premature babies, especially those born before 32 weeks of pregnancy, are more likely (5-6% of cases) to contract infections or have to deal with complications associated with their immaturity. Breast milk reduces the risk of necrotising enterocolitis, a severe complication related to the baby’s intestine, by 3.3%. These health problems can be severe and cause severe harm to the baby, even death. Breast milk can’t heal everything, but can reduce the appearance of many issues or at least improve the outcome. Milk from public banks can compensate for women who gave birth prematurely. They are not always able to give their milk to their baby for many reasons.

 

Only qualified health professionals can decide to use breast milk from a Hema-Quebec milk bank. 

 

À qui sert le lait maternel des banques de lait?

Continue reading this article with What are the Criteria for Becoming a Breast Milk Donor?

 

Photo credit: Alice Chaumier

Découvrez la suite du billet Quels sont les critères pour devenir une donneuse de lait maternel?

Crédit photo Alice Chaumier

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