ABSTRACT
For babies who are unable to receive their mother’s own milk, donor human milk (DHM) can play an important role in protecting their health and supporting their development. When used in the context of early lactation support by trained neonatal unit staff, the availability of DHM can markedly increase maternal breastfeeding rates. When DHM is introduced to neonatal units, rates of maternal own milk feeding can go down. Milk banks assume donated milk will be used to feed 23-week gestation premature babies. Safety is at the heart of everything done. Donors are supported to minimise the risk of bacterial contamination of the milk through advice with hand washing, pump sterilisation or hand-expressing techniques, storage. DHM processing renders the milk effectively sterile and in so doing destroys potentially harmful viruses, but is designed to be a balance between ensuring safety and maximising the range and function of the components after pasteurisation.
