Now Accepting Breastmilk Donations

Stewart Memorial Community Hospital recently became a Milk Collection Depot for the Mother’s Milk Bank of Iowa, meaning it now has the proper equipment to accept and store donated breast milk, which is distributed to infants in need in our state and around the nation.

“We are very excited to become a breast milk depot for the Mother’s Milk Bank of Iowa,” said OB Director Susan Stevens, RN, “There is a constant need for breast milk, so we’re thrilled to take part and help babies in need by bringing this resource to Lake City.”

The mission of the Mother’s Milk Bank of Iowa is to improve the health of infants across the United States by collecting, storing, and distributing human milk to those who need it most. In 2022, milk was dispensed to 48 hospitals in ten states. Thanks to the generosity of milk donors, the Mother’s Milk Bank of Iowa is currently poised to fill orders from new hospitals without interrupting any current service.

More than two decades of research have established that human milk is the perfect food for infants. It protects them from illness, ear infections, rashes, allergies, and even hospitalizations. Human milk is even more important for premature infants. It is full of immune system boosters and infection-fighting factors, and contains unique proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and enzymes necessary for infants to survive.

Donor human milk may be used for hospitalized premature infants, infants born with immunological defects, adopted infants, mother’s requiring a brief cessation of breast feeding due to illness, and more.

Milk donors must answer a verbal questionnaire, fill out a written questionnaire, allow their health care providers to be contacted, and agree to a blood test. This process can be started by contacting Heidi Baudhuin at (319) 384-9930 or heidi-baudhuin@uiowa.edu. Once you’re approved, you must be willing to pump and store milk according to the Milk Bank’s standards. From there, you may contact SMCH OB Director Susan Stevens, RN, at (712) 464-4139 to coordinate your delivery details.

Susan adds, “Please refer your friends, family, and colleagues. Breast milk truly is ‘liquid gold,’ and the families that receive it are so, so grateful.”

Visit www.uihc.org/childrens/information-milk-donors to learn more about screening requirements, storage information, delivery instructions, or to order donor breast milk from the Mother’s Milk Bank of Iowa.