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"A premature baby needs so little breastmilk. I was always so careful not to spill any of it. I know of mothers who express surplus milk in the shower or simply throw it down the drain. It’s just such a waste."

Milk Matters

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  • Expressing Milk
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  • Starting a Milk Bank
  • Pasteurisation
  • HIV
• Breastfeeding
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Become a breastmilk donor. It could save a baby's life.

Download the following PDF forms to become a donor or click for information about donating breastmilk or receiving donor breastmilk

• Donor Screening Form
• Breastmilk Donor Information
• Donor Breastmilk Recipient Information

50 ml of your breastmilk could feed a premature baby of under 1kg for a whole day and make a huge impact on the baby's health.

Milk Matters is a breastmilk bank in the Western Cape, South Africa devoted to providing the immeasurable gift of donated pasteurised breastmilk to babies without access to their own mother's milk.

This

• saves lives
• prevents health problems
• improves the short and long term health outcomes of these infants
• realises huge cost savings for parents, hospitals and medical aids.

Who receives the donated breastmilk?

• Premature babies in state and private hospitals are the main recipients
• HIV positive infants in hospitals.

These babies, for various reasons, do not have access to breastmilk from their own mothers.

Why is it so important that these babies get donor breastmilk?

All babies, but especially premature babies, benefit from the superior nutritional and immunological properties of breastmilk. If they cannot have their own mother's breastmilk then donor breastmilk is by far the next best option.

Breastmilk

• is the ideal nutrition for all babies
• is 100% natural
• helps sick babies recover more quickly
• helps reduce the incidence of potentially fatal intestinal infections in premature babies
• helps premature babies suffering from these intestinal infections to recover and decreases the likelihood of surgery being needed
• has unique properties that cannot be copied or duplicated
• allows for optimum growth, development and weight gain
• is perfect for babies to digest and contains digestive enzymes for intestinal health
• contains vitamins, minerals and fats that are better absorbed than those in any breastmilk substitutes
• has immune boosting properties thus protecting babies from infection
• protects the gut from foreign proteins, which decreases the chance of the baby suffering from allergies.
• has important substances necessary for brain growth
• is life-saving for any baby who cannot tolerate breastmilk substitutes.

Why do they not get breastmilk from their mothers?

The mothers of all the recipient babies are unable to provide breastmilk for their own baby for a variety of reasons. The most common reasons are:

• The baby's mother is too ill to breastfeed or express breastmilk for her baby
• The mother may be on medication that prevents her breastfeeding
• The mother may be separated from her baby and consequently not able to breastfeed. The mother may also be unable to freeze or take her expressed breastmilk to her baby often enough
• The mother of twins or triplets may initially not have enough breastmilk to feed all her babies and donor milk can be used to supplement the mother's milk until she has sufficient milk of her own.

In many cases the need for donor milk is a temporary one. In all instances mothers should be educated about the importance of breastmilk for her baby and how to increase and maintain her milk supply as she is able to breastfeed her baby herself.

It should be noted that an HIV positive mother can express and pasteurise her own breastmilk to safely feed her baby and would therefore not need donor milk. Pasteurising kills the HI virus and is easy, safe and inexpensive to do at home. (See page on HIV for more details)

Who donates breastmilk?

Mothers from all walks of life choose to donate their breastmilk and by doing so, help a baby at risk to have a better chance at life.

Most mothers are able to donate breastmilk. Remember, by expressing breastmilk for another baby, you will not deprive your baby in any way - in fact, expressing increases milk production.

We welcome regular small donations of breastmilk just as much as larger quantities. It all goes towards helping babies who desperately need breastmilk. Every drop counts!

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