Monday, November 21, 2011

Donor Milk

Earth Mama Angel Baby sent me a great newsletter today about donor milk. I'm breaking the article down. If you want to read the whole article click here.

Milk Banking Questions

Why:

One in nine babies is born premature every day. These babies do better with breastmilk. It increases their survival, health and makes their hospital stay shorter. Sometimes Mother's are unable to produce enough. That is where the donors come into play.

Donors:

Donors are becoming more of a need. Unfortunately there are not a lot of sites out there for donors to acquire money for donating their pumped breastmilk. It's more about the deep personal satisfaction from knowing they have helped improve the health of other babies.

All donor milk is pasteurized in order to eliminate any bacteria or other infecting organisms that may have been present.  Donors are screened before their milk is used.

Northwest Mother's Milk Bank:

The Northwest and Oregon have the highest breastfeeding rates in the nation. Their hospitals do not get donor human milk from their local area. Instead they get it from California and Colorado.

The Northwest Mother’s Milk Bank is working to open a local facility in their area. They need money for equipment and staff. For every box of Milkmaid Tea sold on Earth Mama Angel Baby from November 21 to December 30, 2011, Earth Mama will donate $1 to the  Northwest Mother’s Milk Bank.

Guidelines:

There are special requirements that come from the donor themselves. They have to be clean, not taking any herbs or medicines.

How Much is Needed:

• A baby weighing 2 pounds takes up to 5.5 ounces of milk
• A baby weighing 4.5 pounds takes up to 12 ounces of milk
• A baby weighing 6.5 pounds takes up to 18 ounces of milk

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