HUMC Expands Breast Milk Donor Program

Updated:
November 9, 2023
Published:
April 13, 2023

What You Need To Know

  • The HUMC nursing team has expanded its unique program that provides supplemental nutrition with human donor milk instead of infant formula. This is the first time a Hackensack Meridian Health hospital has provided breast milk to children in need of supplementation, outside of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
  • The program's goal is to help new parents maintain exclusive feeding with breast milk, even when their baby needs supplementation.
  • Multiple studies show that breast milk is the ideal source of nutrition for babies and has proven benefits, including providing antibodies that increase protection from illnesses, and that breastfed children have less risk of suffering from learning difficulties in the future.
  • HUMC is ranked among the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care for 2022-23 by U.S. News & World Report.
“This program has been available to babies in our NICU for years, and it has been so successful that we are expanding it to every infant in our Well-Baby unit,” said Kristen Giordano, RNC-MNN, C-IAP, nurse manager of HUMC’s High-Risk Antepartum Unit and Lactation Services.

All Donated Milk Carefully Screened and Stored

The milk bank used by HUMC carefully screens, preserves and stores all breast milk donations in accordance with strict safety guidelines and best practices. Mothers receive information about the program upon admission and can voluntarily consent to participate. Nearly 30 families opted to participate in the program during the first month it was offered.

Healthiest Option for Newborns

“As an OBGYN, I encourage mothers to breastfeed because breast milk contains the perfect combination of fat, protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins that newborns need,” said Melanie Kaufer, MD, obstetrician-gynecologist, international board-certified lactation consultant with HUMC and mother of three. When Dr. Kaufer could not produce enough milk to feed her third newborn child, she received donor milk while mother and infant were still in the hospital. “I was so relieved to find out that the hospital had a donor milk program," she said. “I was so appreciative, I wanted to pay it forward. This program is the next best thing to mother’s own milk.” When she returned home and started pumping her own milk, Dr. Kaufer donated about 100 ounces to the milk bank that supplies HUMC.