Happy World Human Milk Donation Day!
My favorite kind of holiday
Any excuse to get the word out, right? Join in today - here are some resources to help you celebrate and share messages, publications, and thoughts about human milk and the need for a better global understanding of the critical importance of human milk and the impact of donation.
When I was training and preparing to become an IBCLC, breast pumps were a fairly inaccessible thing, so most of the focus was on breastfeeding. I understood the power of human milk from a perspective of how it impacts the growth and development of a healthy term baby.
But then I began my clinical experience in the hospital under the supervision of an IBCLC. I had the privilege to work in all of the maternal child health areas and in pediatrics. Suddenly the information in my textbooks and the journal articles about preterm infants and human milk as medicine were incredibly fascinating - I have distinct memories of running back to the office from the NICU one day during lunch so I could look something up in the book. (We also didn’t have phones with internet access then- it was 2006!)
Patient and experienced nurses taught me about the needs and vulnerabilities of preterm and sick babies, and my brain was constantly working to overlay what I knew about breastfeeding and human milk. Integrating all of it is what really sealed the deal for me in committing to the work of being an IBCLC.
I suddenly felt the power of the huge gaps I was seeing between what was happening in the NICU and pediatric wards and what the research and information were actually saying. (I think that’s why it took a minute or two for me to really get it - I thought maybe it was just me misunderstanding things, but I soon discovered that was not the case.)
The knowledge that we already have about the importance of human milk and how it optimizes situations which are less than ideal is already well-established. The use of human milk as medicine, not “just” food, is an idea that has been in the literature and recommended practices for years. In practice, in reality - well, that’s pretty varied. How is that ok? We’ll explore more there next time, but back to Human Milk Donation Day!
Awareness of milk donation has grown over the past decade or so with the spread of pumping and exclusive pumping, the pandemic, and the ONGOING FORMULA ACCESS ISSUES in North America (the caps are because it’s infuriating that these companies refuse to pull it together and make safe formula - another recall just this past week.)
While today’s celebration/awareness opportunity is really about donating to milk banks and the use of pasteurized donor human milk, you’ll also hear questions and talk about informal milk sharing. That makes it a great time to brush up on that topic as well. I’ve linked the ABM’s position statement on that below.
Let’s amplify the conversation today about the power and importance of human milk. There are folks out there who:
have way more milk than they need in their freezer and have no idea about milk donation
are about to give birth to a baby way too early and that might happen in a place where they are STILL?! not using pasteurized donor human milk
have inspiring stories about a baby they love who received donor human milk and how much it mattered to them
have great practical advice for others who want to donate their milk
are experiencing over-production and are suffering - let them know to how to contact an IBCLC for help
have misconceptions about the safety profile of donor milk
are licensed healthcare providers who do not truly understand why they should be advocating for the use of pasteurized donor human milk in their workplace and how it can save the lives of their beloved patients - let’s educate!
Raising awareness about the importance of human milk and promoting the use of donor milk are part of my Core Practice Philosophy at Evolve Lactation. If we collectively have the knowledge that babies can be saved through the use of pasteurized donor human milk, and that human milk feeding allows babies to thrive in their growth and development, then it is unethical and unacceptable that we allow our healthcare system to ignore this. It means that the most vulnerable humans are receiving inadequate care.
Simpler Messages
Even a little bit of human milk makes a difference
Human milk is made with exactly what human babies need
Human milk is alive
Human milk is made for YOUR baby, not just any baby
Human milk has everything a baby needs to grow and stay healthy
Human milk protects babies from sickness
You don’t need a breast pump to get milk out of your breasts - you can use your hands!
The milk you make in the first few days after baby is born is especially healthy for your baby
Professional Messages
Human milk feeding is the evidence-based best practice for all babies, whether preterm or full-term
Human milk contains stem cells and growth factors
Human milk can be expressed with or without a breast pump
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) work to maintain a thriving microbiome in the infant gut
Human milk contains critical enzymes that babies don’t yet produce
Human milk offers babies bio-available nutrients in the appropriate ratios
Hand expression of human milk is simple and always available regardless of access to electricity or technology
When a parent’s own expressed milk is not available, pasteurized donor human milk is the next best option
Ensure all parents know how to hand express their milk after birth even if it seems like they are breastfeeding well
Knowing how to hand express milk helps protect against painful engorgement, mastitis, and other lactation complications
All babies in hospitals deserve access to pasteurized donor human milk if they need it
HMBANA’s network of non-profit milk banks protect babies by screening donors and pasteurizing human milk donations in accordance with current evidence-based research
Here are some hashtags you can use in your posts today and every day:
#HumanMilkDonationDay #HMBANA #HumanMilk #DonorMilk #MilkDropChallenge #DonorMilkSavesLives #SavingTinyLives #PreventNEC #NECawarenessMonth #HumanMilkBank #HumanMilkSavesLives #HumanMilkDonation #HumanMilkMatters #IBCLC #NICU #HumanMilkAsMedicine #HumanMilkFacts
If you like to share scientific articles and resources others can use to learn more about the importance of human milk and use cases for donor milk, here are some links:
Human Milk Banking Association of North America
AAP Policy Statement on Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk
Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Protocol for Breastfeeding the Late Preterm Infant
Human Milk Oligosaccharides and Infant Neurodevelopment: A Narrative Review - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/3/719
For Health Care Professionals - FAQ About Milk Processing
Brochure for Milk Recipients from a Milk Bank
ABM Position Statement on Informal Breastmilk Sharing for the Healthy Term Infant
If you’re posting or writing about this today, please tag me @IBCLCinCA on Instagram and Twitter and feel free to use the hashtag #EvolveLactation - we’re a force and we’re getting stronger every day!