Got Milk? You can bank on it.

A proposed ‘Breast Milk Bank’ for Victoria

It is a sad fact that not all women can breastfeed their babies. For those who can, Breast milk does have significant health benefits, particularly for premature or sick babies.

It’s not about blaming a woman who cannot feed her baby from her own breast. It’s about making sure that all children get the best possible start in life. Donor breastmilk is the next best thing and should be the first alternative for a mum who cannot breastfeed.

A proposed ‘Breast Milk Bank’ for Victoria would follow the lead of WA and QLD but lags well behind other countries. The Mercy hospital in Melbourne is proposing to determine the feasibility of a milk bank.

Meanwhile a House of Representatives committee on breastfeeding is due to report to federal health minister Tony Abbott shortly. According to the committee chair MP Alex Somlyayan, the committee is likely to recommend that the federal government funds milk banks.

Given that the Queensland milk bank initiative is able to survive as a non-profit charitable organization relying on business and community donations there should be no question about the dollar value of this vital service. Particularly when we consider the potential long-term savings to our already struggling healthcare system.

A banks milk reserves are created by women who are already breastfeeding. They simply donate some of their milk to the bank either on a regular or a one-off basis. Donors are asked a series of medical and lifestyle questions and must be screened for infections that might be passed on through the breast milk.

The milk is expressed and stored by the mother for pick-up by the milk bank where it goes to be bottled and pasteurised to kill any bacteria and then supplied to babies in need.