Sentara Albemarle Medical Center joins statewide mothers’ milk bank
Hospital becomes drop-off site where donors leave milk for premature infants and babies in hospital nurseries.
Sentara Albemarle Medical Center (SAMC) in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, has joined a statewide pilot to expand donations of human milk for premature infants in neonatal intensive care units and babies in hospital nurseries.
The WakeMed Mothers’ Milk Bank is well-established around Raleigh, North Carolina, but it’s expanding its donation sites as part of a pilot. Pasquotank is among the first five counties in the pilot, with SAMC starting to accept milk donations this month.
Coincidently, May 19 is World Human Milk Donation Day, which highlights the need for donor milk at hospitals around the world.
“This is a great opportunity for us to help save the lives of preemies,” said Brenda Elmore, lactation consultant at SAMC.
“Mothers’ milk has unique properties that protect against common deadly infections in newborns. It protects against allergies, cancers, and diabetes. It’s the best nutrition there is for these fragile babies.”
The hospital’s role in the pilot is as a depot, or drop-off site, where volunteers leave their breast milk, which is then sent to WakeMed for laboratory testing and pasteurization before distribution to hospitals in North Carolina and mid-Atlantic states.
More than 10,000 babies are born prematurely in North Carolina each year, according to WakeMed. For mothers who lose a baby at birth, WakeMed suggests that donating their milk can be a tribute to their babies and help with emotional healing. Women winding down breast feeding, but still producing milk, can find a good use for it through donation.
Potential donors will first be interviewed on the phone by a WakeMed representative. Paperwork includes a form for donors’ physicians to sign. Blood work determines if potential donors can proceed.
Donors can contact WakeMed at 919-350-8599 or email email donatemilkbank@wakemed.org. They can also call Brenda Elmore locally at 252-384-4348.
The WakeMed Mothers’ Milk Bank is well-established around Raleigh, North Carolina, but it’s expanding its donation sites as part of a pilot. Pasquotank is among the first five counties in the pilot, with SAMC starting to accept milk donations this month.
Coincidently, May 19 is World Human Milk Donation Day, which highlights the need for donor milk at hospitals around the world.
“This is a great opportunity for us to help save the lives of preemies,” said Brenda Elmore, lactation consultant at SAMC.
“Mothers’ milk has unique properties that protect against common deadly infections in newborns. It protects against allergies, cancers, and diabetes. It’s the best nutrition there is for these fragile babies.”
The hospital’s role in the pilot is as a depot, or drop-off site, where volunteers leave their breast milk, which is then sent to WakeMed for laboratory testing and pasteurization before distribution to hospitals in North Carolina and mid-Atlantic states.
More than 10,000 babies are born prematurely in North Carolina each year, according to WakeMed. For mothers who lose a baby at birth, WakeMed suggests that donating their milk can be a tribute to their babies and help with emotional healing. Women winding down breast feeding, but still producing milk, can find a good use for it through donation.
Potential donors will first be interviewed on the phone by a WakeMed representative. Paperwork includes a form for donors’ physicians to sign. Blood work determines if potential donors can proceed.
Donors can contact WakeMed at 919-350-8599 or email email donatemilkbank@wakemed.org. They can also call Brenda Elmore locally at 252-384-4348.
By: Dale Gauding