Cape Cod Hospital is home to our new milk depot . . .
We’re thrilled to announce that Cape Cod Hospital is home to our brand new milk depot.
A vital medical resource, we’ve been working hard to provide improved access to safe donor human milk, so we’re proud to not only share this news but an article from our friends at Cape Cod Health News. Read on to learn more about the depot and two milk incredible donors.
A special kind of breastfeeding service . . .
Cape Cod Hospital labor and delivery nurses Julia Leacy, RN, and Taylor Aboody, RN, each know the value of breast milk to newborns. So, knowing how important it is in the first days and weeks of life, they recently became the first two moms to donate breast milk to the hospital’s new milk depot.
“I was blessed with an abundance of milk for (daughter) Stella. I think this is a great way to give back to our community,” said Aboody at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate The Family Birthplace’s new partnership with Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast.
A milk depot is a place where breastfeeding mothers with excess supply, can donate their breastmilk. This milk supports babies in need.
All donating mothers go through a comprehensive screening process before they can participate. Once the milk is donated, it is shipped to Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast where it is tested and pasteurized before being sent to NICU’s all over New England.
The donated milk goes primarily to infants in hospital neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), said Kylia Garver, MPH, director of Hospital Relations and Community Education with Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast.
“Babies born before 32 weeks gestation have a very difficult time digesting formula. So, if their moms are hoping to breastfeed and they need some support, they can access donor milk,” she explained. Other possible recipients of this milk are babies whose moms plan to breastfeed but whose milk supply is still developing. Donated milk is a temporary bridge until the mom is able to breastfeed on her own, Garver said.
Empowering to give back . . .
“Becoming a depot seemed like a natural choice for Cape Cod Hospital,” said lactation consultant Heather Lakatos, RN, IBCLC. The Family Birthplace is part of the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition and the Massachusetts Baby Friendly Collaborative . . .
