The nonprofit Mothers' Milk Bank at Austin has been working with lactating moms in Houston and around the nation for more than a decade to save thousands of preterm babies each year—and thousands more could be helped with increased milk donations, Executive Director Kim Updegrove said.
"Lactating moms have this amazing super power," Updegrove said. "They have this gift of human milk in the first year of postpartum that is so unique and it affects the entire nation."
Mothers' Milk Bank, based in Austin, has a mission to provide milk for preterm infants throughout the U.S. The bank provides human milk for preterm babies at 14 Houston area hospitals.
"By the end of this year, we'll have dispensed 3 million ounces of donor human milk thanks in large part to the Houston moms who have given their time and energy to saving the lives of preterm babies," Updegrove said.
The milk bank was founded in 1999 by two neonatologists, Dr. George Sharpe from Seton Healthcare and Dr. Sonny Rivera from St. David's HealthCare. Updegrove said the two doctors wanted to address a critical issue among preterm infants—an inflammatory disease called necrotizing enterocolitis. The disease, which cuts off the blood supply to the infant's intestines, occurs when the infants are not given human breast milk.
"We are only successful at saving these infants because of the donor milk," Updegrove said. "We have the knowledge. We have the science. We know what they need, but we can't create human milk ourselves. The next generation is healthier only because of the compassion of these breastfeeding moms."
Milk is provided to patients based on medical need and not on financial resources or insurance coverage, she said. Prioritized recipients for the donated milk are babies who weigh 3 pounds, 6 ounces and less, she said.
"Human milk is scarce," Updegrove said. "The demand far outpaces the supply. It is prioritized for the babies who are so small they fit in your hands. We would love to be able to help those babies who are larger and more stable, but there isn't enough supply. If [all lactating moms] called and donated, we would have enough supply."
One in eight babies are born preterm in Texas, and one in 12 babies are preterm in the U.S., she said.
Mothers of preterm babies born in the second trimester of pregnancy do not have their milk supply in yet and cannot provide breast milk for their baby.
Any lactating mom who has given birth in the last year is eligible to donate to the bank. The donor is prescreened over the phone and undergoes a blood test. The donor can then drop off their milk at any of the six Houston area locations. A courier picks up the milk and takes it to the bank's main Austin location for screening.
Breast milk that is donated to the milk bank undergoes a rigorous process that includes screening for diseases and medical and lifestyle risks; microbiological and nutritional analysis; pasteurization; and then another round of microbiological and nutritional tests. Milk from multiple donors is mixed to create a pool with a specific calorie content.
The bank then disperses the milk throughout Texas and 11 other states. About 18 perent of the milk processed by the bank is shipped to Houston hospitals, Updegrove said. And about 15 percent of the milk coming in to the bank is from Houston.
"There's a very great need for human milk," Updegrove said. "Human milk is life saving for preterm babies."
Additional reporting by Annie Drabicky
