St. Tammany Health System’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit got a special delivery recently – but not the kind you’re probably thinking of.
This particular bundle of joy, weighing in at a whopping 400 pounds and measuring 80.3 inches, is a brand-new, hospital-grade lab freezer, the key part of a new Northshore donor depot designed to safely store milk donated by mothers who overproduce breast milk.
The depot, located in the New Family Center on the health system's St. Tammany Parish Hospital campus in Covington, can accept milk from approved donors of the Mother’s Milk Bank of Louisiana.
“We’ve been using donor milk for micro-premies for a long time, and the use of it is growing across the U.S.” said Heather Flynn RN, who spearheaded creation of the STHS Donor Milk Depot with AVP of Women and Children’s Services Cindy Ingram. “But having this donor depot on the Northshore will save donors from having to pack their donated milk in dry ice and send it or drive it to Ochsner on the south shore to be prepared for distribution to local facilities, including St. Tammany Health system.”
With the new freezer, which was purchased in part with grant money provided through STHS partner Ochsner Health, Northshore donors will now be able to drop off their milk at St. Tammany Health System’s Covington hospital, where it will be stored in the lab freezer and periodically shipped in bulk to Ochsner.
Studies have shown that premature babies, and particularly those born before 30 weeks gestation, have better outcomes if fed breast milk, including lowering the risk of infection.
Because not all women can provide an adequate supply, a donor system has been established whereby nursing mothers – after being thoroughly screened and tested – can donate milk to help babies in need.
“The new Breast Milk Depot at St. Tammany Health System is really for the donors’ convenience, helping the community so they don’t have to drive across the lake,” said Suzanne Fraiche, director of pediatrics at the hospital’s New Family Center. “It’s all part of our continuing mission to provide world-class healthcare close to home for our Northshore neighbors.”