PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT: Naomi Bar-Yam 617-599-2902Concord Hospital Introduces Donor Human Milk as Standard of Care
Concord Hospital, located in Concord New Hampshire, is the first hospital in New England to introduce the use of donor human milk as standard of care for all babies whose mothers’ supply is temporarily compromised. “Breastfeeding and human milk are important for babies’ immunologic and physical development. Recent recommendations from CDC and other major medical organizations urge use of human milk when mothers cannot provide fully for their babies. We want to make donor human milk from a milk bank available to our youngest patients,” noted Jan Greer-Carney, director of Nutrition at Concord Hospital.The Mothers’ Milk Bank of New England (MMBNE), located near Boston, is the only milk bank in New England and will be providing milk to Concord Hospital. “Our goal is always to have mothers nurse their own babies, but sometimes it is necessary to provide a supplement while the mothers milk comes in,” commented r. Kathleen Marinelli, medical director of MMBNE. Some mothers have more milk than their babies and generously donate this gift of health to other mothers and babies in need. Both donor mothers and milk are screened carefully, and milk is pasteurized. Milk banks operate under strict safety standards set by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America. “We applaud the vision of Concord Hospital and we are delighted to be working with The Family Place at the hospital to provide this service to families in the Concord area. This is part of a larger movement that is recognizing not only the importance of breastfeeding and human milk, but the potential harm of artificial formulas for our most vulnerable citizens,” said Naomi Bar-Yam Executive Director of MMBNE.