CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – During this pandemic breast milk banks across the country have seen a decline in donations, coupled with a rise in demand.
To increase availability, Broward Health Coral Springs recently partnered with Mother’s Milk Bank of Florida to provide a safe and controlled location for women to donate their extra breast milk.
“The milk bank itself is actually based in Orlando and we are what you call a ‘depot’ location which means moms in the community can come and drop their milk off here and we actually help and facilitate the courier to take it to the milk bank in Orlando,” said Nicole Salisbury, a nurse and lactation consultant at Broward Health Coral Springs.
There the milk is analyzed, it’s cultured, processed, pasteurized, and then available for other hospitals to obtain for their NICU babies and sometimes even for their well-baby nursery.
Salisbury says human milk helps support babies developing immune systems.
To find out more about the program call 954.575.MILK (6455) Or go to www.browardhealth.org/maternity
According to a study published March 21, 2022 in the Journal JAMA Internal medicine, pregnant women who got COVID-19 were more likely to have severe health issues like breathing problems, sepsis, blood clots, or acute respiratory distress syndrome
They also had more than double the risk of giving birth too early.
Scientists are still trying to determine the impact on the baby and urge doctors to keep a close eye on infants whose moms were infected.