Donor Human Milk: Preventive Medicine in Practice

Our first all-day conference, Human Milk Banking: Preventive Medicine in Practice, held at Caritas Holy Family Hospital on April 24, 2009, was a great success.

About 65 physicians, nurses, lactation consultants, dieticians and other providers from a dozen hospitals, health care agencies, and private practices from five New England states gathered at Caritas Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, MA. We learned from our speakers and shared information and insights about the research, clinical, practical and ethical aspects of human milk banking.

Thanks to everyone on the MMBNE and Holy Family Hospital team who worked so hard together to make this program a success.

See the accreditation statement from Tufts.

This conference was supported by a generous grant from the Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust, and also by Ameda, Tufts University, and Caritas Holy Family Hospital.

Conference Description

This first MMBNE annual conference supports one of our primary missions, educating health care professionals in the use and benefits of donor human milk. Participation is appropriate for, but not limited to, neonatologists, pediatricians, obstetrician/ gynecologists, family practitioners, perinatal-neonatal physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, dieticians and nutritionists, social workers, managed care representatives, commercial insurers, hospital administrators and anyone else interested in providing the highest standard of care and support to these fragile babies and their families.

Conference Objectives

  • Review evidence base for use of human milk for preterm infants.
  • Describe safety measures, screening milk donors and milk processing.
  • Define ethical issues and controversies in human milk banking.
  • Review clinical indications and efficacy of donor human milk.
  • Describe process of procuring and using donor human milk in hospitals.

Key Speakers

Lois D. W. Arnold, MPH, PhD, is a recognized international and national expert on donor human milk banking policy and practice as well as breast milk collection and storage techniques. Dr. Arnold was a founding member and served as the Executive Director of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America, Inc. for many years. She is currently the coordinator of the National Commission on Donor Milk Banking, a special project of the American Breastfeeding Institute, and focuses her energy on the development of health policy related to donor human milk banking. She serves as a delegate to the United States Breastfeeding Committee. She is also the Coordinator of the Independent Study Module Program for La Leche League International. Dr. Arnold is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters on the subject of donor milk banking. She is also an author of Reclaiming Breastfeeding for the United States and Maternal and Infant Assessment for Breastfeeding and Human Lactation, 2nd edition.

Kathleen A. Marinelli, MD, IBCLC, FAAP, FABM, is a graduate of Cornell University and Cornell University School of Medicine. She was a Pediatric intern, resident, nephrology fellow and neonatology fellow at Children’s National Medical Center, George Washington University, Washington DC. She is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, and is a neonatologist and Director of Lactation Support Services at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, CT. She was in the first group of twenty physicians to be recognized internationally with the prestigious designation of “Fellow of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine” (FABM), and currently serves on its Board of Directors, where she is active in protocol development and chairs the Liaison Committee. She is a Charter member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding, serving as both the Chair of its Membership Committee and the Chair of its Legislative Committee, and as the AAP Connecticut Chapter Breastfeeding Coordinator. In her role as Chair of the CT Section of the AAP Breastfeeding Medicine Committee, she was instrumental in drafting and passing comprehensive breastfeeding in the workplace legislation in 2001. She has recently authored the first complete chapter on breastfeeding in a major neonatology textbook. Her research interests center on breastfeeding and the use of human milk in the neonatal intensive care unit, cup feeding, and the education of medical professionals. She has lectured extensively, and is currently developing an academic Department of Human Lactation at Connecticut Childrens Medical Center. She is the medical director of the Mothers' Milk Bank of New England

David Newburg, PhD, is the director of the Program in Glycobiology of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at Massachusetts General Hospital, and an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. He is an internationally recognized expert in human milk research. Dr. Newburg has conducted many studies on the structure and function of human milk components, the results of which are published in many top research journals; He is the editor of the book “Bioactive Components of Human Milk”. He has served and is serving on NIH study sections, evaluates research papers for their suitability for publication for many scientific journals, and is on the editorial board of the journal “Breastfeeding Medicine”. Dr. Newburg serves on the Board of Directors of the Mothers' Milk Bank of New England.

Schedule

8:00-8:45Registration and breakfast; exhibits
8:45-9:00 Welcome; HousekeepingNaomi Bar-Yam
9:00-10:30Why Human Milk is the Standard of Care for Premature Babies,
or "How Milk Sugars Protect Sweet Baby Jane"		David Newburg
10:30-10:45Break; Exhibits
10:45-12:15Donor Human Milk: What You Need to Know,
But Did Not Know to Ask!		Kathleen Marinelli
12:15-1:15Lunch (provided)
1:15-2:45Physicians Panel: Using Banked Milk - The Practical Aspects
Moderator:Kathleen Marinelli
Panelists: Charles Anderson, MD (St. Elizabeth's Caritas Medical Center)
Frank Bednarek, MD (UMass Memorial Health Care)
Mark Brown, MD (Eastern Maine Medical Center)
Leslie Kerzner, MD (Massachusetts General Hospital)
Barbara Shephard, MD (Tufts Medical Center)
2:45-3:00Break; Exhibits
3:00-4:30Applying biomedical ethics principles to donor human milk banking Lois Arnold
4:30-4:45Wrap up, evaluation, continuing education credit
Total: 6 hours credit

Conference Committee

Dr. Susan Browne, Chief of Pediatrics, CHFH
Jane Crotteau Board Member MMBNE; Lactation Consultant, CHFH
Dr. Andrea Magno, Director Newborn Medicine, CHFH
Dr. Kathleen Marinelli, Medical Director, MMBNE
Lynda Nigro, Caritas Holy Family Hospital
Karen Warren,Staff Development Coordinator, CHFH Birthing Center

Conference Volunteers and Staff

Natalie Belostotsky
Ilene Fabisch
Prof. Marcia Marker Feld
Heather Greene
Maleah Gustafson
Raechel Hackney
Sally Kepnes
Karen Sussman-Karten

Mothers' Milk Bank of New England
PO Box 60-0091 Newtonville, MA 02460
Office phone: 617-527-6263
Fax: 617-527-1005