CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Broward Health doctors and nurses were asking new mothers to consider donating their extra breast milk to help save the lives of babies at the neonatal intensive care unit.
As a mom to 9-month-old Delilah, Kaitlyn Isoba, a nurse at the Broward Health Coral Springs NICU, has already donated 450 ounces of breast milk.
“I have just been blessed with enough to give out enough for her and enough for others,” Isoba said adding, “I have seen the benefits for the baby and also for the moms as well.”
Last year, Broward Health partnered with The Mothers’ Milk Bank of Florida, a nonprofit organization, to open a Milk Depot at 3000 Coral Hills Dr., in Coral Springs. It is the only milk depot of its kind in our area.
For premature babies, human breastmilk can be life-saving.
“We know babies who are given human milk have much less risk of [necrotizing enterocolitis], so not only do they do better in the immediate period, but also long term as they’re growing,” said Nichole Salisbury, a registered nurse who was certified by The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners.
Necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC, is a common and very serious intestinal disease among premature babies that can result in death.
“I have seen the benefits [of breastmilk] for the baby and also for the moms as well,” Isoba said.
Salisbury says, “We know babies who are breastfed have a lower risk of ear infections, asthma, allergies, problems with GI and gut, respiratory problems, lower risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.”
“For the mothers, they have a lower risk of breast cancer, uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, and less hypertension and diabetes as they get older. So it’s a significant benefit to women that they don’t realize,” she continues.
To become a registered donor, women must provide a complete medical and lifestyle history and undergo blood tests. The milk donations are tested for bacteria and nutrients and pasteurized and tested again.
Once the doctors prescribe the donor milk to the babies a courier delivers it from the Milk Bank to the Broward Health NICU. The Mother’s Milk Bank also has instructions for women who wish to mail their donations.
For more information, call 954-575-6455, or 407-248-5050 or visit this site.