Vancouver Coastal Health has opened its first breast milk collection depots with the goal of making it easier for lactating moms to donate their excess milk to babies in need.
Earlier this month, the health authority introduced four new drop-off sites, including one on the North Shore at West Vancouver Community Health Centre, and plans to open a fifth location in the fall.
North Shore public health nurse Andrea Firth has been busy getting the word out about the West Vancouver collection depot, located at 2121 Marine Dr., and is pleased with the turnout so far.
“We’re starting to get some donations now, so we’re really happy about that,” she says. “It’s already taking off.”
Women who have more breast milk than they need for their own baby must first register with the BC Women’s Provincial Milk Bank before they are cleared to donate. They can then pump and package their excess milk at home.
“The moms will collect it and freeze it at home and they can bring in one day’s worth or they can bring in six months’ worth,” Firth says. “Sometimes people bring in a big boxful.”
The milk is transported to the milk bank at BC Women’s Hospital where it is screened and pasteurized, then distributed to vulnerable babies in neonatal intensive care units. Firth says donor milk is critical for sick and premature babies whose own mothers may not be producing breast milk yet, or who may be facing challenges that prevent them from breastfeeding.
“A mom might be compromised in some way. Perhaps she’s really ill herself,” Firth says. “There’s lots of reasons women are stuck not producing as much as they’d like to.”
The alternative to human breast milk is infant formula, which is usually based on cow’s milk and can be difficult for babies to process, Firth says.
“Human milk is so much easier for them to digest and it has all those wonderful added benefits,” she explains, like providing babies with antibodies to fight disease and infection. “It just makes such a difference in their life.”
Demand for donated human milk continuously exceeds supply, so the hope with the new drop-off centres is to boost the number of donors and volume of donations.
“We cannot meet the needs at this point in the province,” Firth says.
Women in good health with children up to 18 months old are eligible to donate to the milk bank. Bereaved donors who have lost a baby are also welcome to contribute.
“Moms are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts and it makes moms who are high producers feel really good because it’s really needy babies that are requiring it.”
Previously, donors would have had to travel to BC Women’s Hospital in Vancouver to drop off their milk.
“The more sites we have, the easier it is for women to donate,” Firth says. “We have helpful staff and nurses available, me being one of them, who can answer any questions for anybody interested.”
Vancouver Coastal Health’s new breast milk collection depots are located at West Vancouver Community Health Centre, Squamish Community Health Centre, Raven Song Community Health Centre in Vancouver, and Richmond Public Health. Another depot is expected to open in Vancouver at Evergreen Community Health Centre in the fall. To learn more about the drop-off locations or donating milk visit vch.ca.
