How NWMMB is Responding to Shortage of Breastmilk Substitutes (Infant formula)
Every day, Northwest Mothers Milk Bank serves hospitalized and medically fragile infants in the community. Every year, the demand for a safe source of human donor milk rises. Babies who need donor milk have diagnoses that range from extreme complications of prematurity to those whose birth parent’s milk is not fully available in the first few days of life.
Hospitals are relying on us more than ever to ensure their freezers are stocked. The volume of milk dispensed in the Pacific Northwest has increased twenty-eight percent in 2020. Seventy-five percent of donor milk from NWMMB goes to babies in the hospital, primarily in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). Premature and fragile infants continue to be born. Making sure they have the best nutrition available is essential.