Lactating parents in the North Island are about to have a new way to help support the most fragile babies in need around B.C., by donating expressed breast milk.
According to a release from Island Health, the Campbell River Health Unit is poised tobecome a donor milk collection depot for the Provincial Milk Bank.
The unit will provide space for screened donors to drop off excess raw, frozen breast milk, which will be transported to B.C. Women's Hospital + Health Centre in Vancouver, pasteurized and distributed to neonatal intensive care, maternity and pediatric units across the province.
"Some people who give birth to a preterm baby struggle to provide their own breast milk, and some infants may be too sick to breastfeed," said Island Health's public health manager Carolyn Hutton. "Pasteurized donor milk can be a life-saving measure for these infants, providing babies with antibodies to fight disease and infection, which is especially vital for premature or babies battling medical conditions."
Hutton knows firsthand how critical milk donations can be for families, as she received donor milk 17 years ago when her twins, Sofia and Jaeden, were born premature.
"Jaeden was critically ill at birth, and I couldn't produce enough milk for both babies. What little I could produce went to him first due to his condition. It was a difficult and unexpected situation. Now, I'm thrilled to support the establishment of a milk depot in our health unit. It feels like a meaningful way to pay it forward and help other North Island families in need."
Starting Oct. 31, donors, once screened by the milk bank, can drop off their breast milk Monday to Wednesday between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
"The demand for milk is high, often exceeds supply, and new donors are always needed," says Kaitlin March, operations manager of specialty nutrition services at B.C. Women's Hospital.
The first donor milk collection depot in the Island Health region opened in 2016 at Victoria General Hospital. A second opened in 2019 at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. Since 2016, donors via these two depots have given 3,683 litres of milk to babies in need - enough to fill approximately 18 bathtubs.
Potential donors can find out about eligibility via the BC Women's Hospital + Health Centre's website, Donating Milk. All pregnant people may register for Island Health's prenatal Public Health Nursing service, Right from the Start.