Free Donor Breast Milk Program Launched At Beverly Hospital

BEVERLY, MA — Beverly Hospital has launched a donor breast mile program at no cost for newborn patients with low birth weights, who were born pre-term and who meet medically necessary criteria.

The pasteurized donor breast milk program is designed to provide the newborns with critical nutrition and protection from infection as they develop.

Newborn patients in either the Special Care Nursery or the Mother Baby Unit at Beverly Hospital may be eligible for free pasteurized donor milk if they weigh less than 1,500 grams (3.31 pounds), are born before 34 weeks gestation, have low blood sugar levels and need additional supplementation, have high bilirubin levels, or meet other criteria determined at the discretion of their physician.

"There is overwhelming evidence surrounding the nutritional advantages and potentially lifesaving benefits of breast milk in supporting the growth and development of newborns," said Anna McNicholas, RN, MSN, CCRN, nurse manager for the Special Care Nursery, Parent Education and Lactation at Beverly Hospital. "Offering access to donor human breast milk through the generosity of other women provides our birthing patients a comforting option in caring for their newborns when supplementation is necessary and also supports our patients who wish to exclusively breastfeed.

"We are thrilled to be able to support the long-term health of our newborns with this important initiative."

Beverly Hospital obtains its pasteurized donor breast milk from Mothers' Milk Bank Northeast, a nonprofit milk bank providing pasteurized donor milk to fragile babies throughout the Northeast.

The donor milk arrives frozen after being heat-treated (pasteurized) and tested in a laboratory. Donors are lactating mothers with extra milk who are nonsmokers and not taking regular medications, including prescriptions, over-the-counter medications or herbal supplements.

The donors are screened for health behaviors and diseases and are not paid.

Breastfeeding is considered the clinical gold standard for infant feeding and nutrition, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).

Newborns who are breastfed have reduced risk of such conditions as asthma, severe lower respiratory disease, obesity, Type 1 diabetes, ear infections, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, gastrointestinal infections, and necrotizing enterocolitis, a life-threatening condition for preterm infants, the CDC reports.

More on the program can donation opportunities can be found here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)