Dartmouth-Hitchcock recently announced the opening of a Donor Milk Depot and Dispensary at its Women’s Health Resource Center, in partnership with Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast. A grand opening event was held on Sept. 4.

LEBANON – Dartmouth-Hitchcock recently announced the opening of a Donor Milk Depot and Dispensary at its Women’s Health Resource Center (WHRC), in partnership with Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast. A grand opening event was held on Sept. 4.

A donor milk depot is a community location where screened milk donors can drop off donor human milk for shipment to the milk bank. Mothers from the Upper Valley area will now be able to drop off their milk conveniently at the depot for shipment to the milk bank, after first registering with Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast.

A donor milk dispensary is an outpatient location where a family whose baby has a prescription for pasteurized human donor milk can fill the prescription and take home the milk. Currently, babies at 11 New Hampshire hospitals can receive pasteurized donor human milk while hospitalized. However, once a baby leaves the hospital, if the baby still needs milk, the family must pick up the pasteurized donor human milk in person from a dispensary, or by placing an order to be shipped overnight from Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast in Newton, MA.

Donations from mothers who have more milk than their babies need are screened, pasteurized, and tested at the milk bank, and then then dispensed to babies whose mothers do not have enough milk for them. The WHRC maintains an average of 150 bottles of donor milk. Donor milk may be obtained via prescription from the dispensary, regardless of if the patient is a D-H patient.

“It’s really exciting to see how sustainable pasteurized donor human milk is now, and how entrenched it is in the culture of our organization,” said Lisa Lamadriz, RN, lactation services coordinator at D-H. “Pasteurized donor human milk was simply not on the radar before. Fortunately, it is now recognized as an important part of health care for infants and their families.”

With the opening of this location, Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast will now have five dispensaries in four states, including two in New Hampshire, and 30 depots in 10 states, including five in New Hampshire.

“A donor milk dispensary is a forward-thinking and innovative way to foster health and ensure that as many babies as possible have access to human milk,” said Ann Marie Lindquist, director of community relations for Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast. “It is especially meaningful for the community to have a location where families can both donate and receive milk.”

Pasteurized donor human milk can be lifesaving for preterm infants. It is especially protective against a life-threatening condition called necrotizing enter colitis (NEC), which affects one in 10 of the smallest preterm infants. Human breastmilk is estimated to lower the risk of this condition by 79 percent. It also lowers hospital costs by reducing costs for care and shortening hospital stays.

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