Soft Corner Midwifery in Bath recently announced the opening of the third outpatient donor milk dispensary in Maine in partnership with Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast.
A donor milk dispensary is a community location where a family whose baby has a prescription can obtain donor milk for use at home. Currently, babies at many Maine hospitals can receive donor milk while in the hospital; in the community setting, if a baby needs donor milk, a dispensary is a convenient and important local option. Dispensaries make human milk easier to access while the maternal milk supply is developing. Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast supplies the human milk by collecting it from parents who have more milk than their babies need.
By opening a donor milk dispensary, Soft Corner Midwifery is on the leading edge of organizations providing access to donor milk in the community, the midwifery said in a prepared release. When a baby requires supplementation in the early days after birth, research shows that families tend to view donor milk as a temporary bridge and formula as a long-term solution. Having donor milk available at community locations like a dispensary can be an essential component in improving human milk feeding rates for families who have that goal.
“A donor milk dispensary is a forward-thinking and innovative way to promote health and ensure that as many babies as possible have access to human milk,” Deborah Youngblood, CEO for Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast, said in the release. “We are grateful to Soft Corner for opening a dispensary and making donor milk more available to Maine families.”
Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast screens, pasteurizes and tests the donor milk then dispenses it to babies whose parents do not have enough milk for them. Milk donor screening, modeled after blood donor screening, includes health history, physician or midwife approval, and a blood test. Milk from donors who pass the screening is also pasteurized and tested by an independent lab to ensure safety before being dispensed to hospitals, dispensaries or families.
Families and health care providers seeking more information on receiving or donating milk can check the milk bank’s website at milkbankne.org. For more information and to schedule a donor milk order with Soft Corner Midwifery, visit softcornermidwifery.com/milk-bank.
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