Postpartum women’s views on human milk banking in a city in Southeast China: a cross-sectional survey

Background Donor human milk is the best alternative for preterm infants when their mother’s own milk is insufficient or unavailable. The development of human milk banks in China started late, and in most of these banks, the amount of donor human milk is insufficient for clinical demand. Moreover, many mothers are reluctant to use donor human milk due to safety concerns. It is important to understand the potential supply and demand of donor human milk before establishing a new human milk bank. This study aimed to understand women’s acceptance of human milk banking in Wenzhou, southeastern China. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in three community health centers in Wenzhou, southeast China, in December 2020. Data were collected from 305 postpartum women selected through convenience sampling. Sociodemographic, perinatal and breastfeeding characteristics, awareness and knowledge of human milk banking and willingness to donate human milk, and to accept donor human milk were assessed. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to explore independent predictors of willingness to donate human milk and to accept donor human milk. Results Only 17% (52/305) of our participants had heard of human milk banking prior to this survey. The prevalence of willingness to donate human milk and use donor human milk in our study was 73.4% (224/305) and 44.6% (136/305), respectively. Employment (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.30; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17, 4.50) and human milk banking knowledge (AOR 1.23; 95% CI 1.12, 1.35) were independent predictors of willingness to donate human milk. Monthly household income in the previous year (AOR 2.18; 95% CI 1.17, 4.06), awareness of human milk banking (AOR 2.41; 95% CI 1.24, 4.67) and knowledge of human milk banking (AOR 1.22; 95% CI 1.11, 1.35) were significantly associated with willingness to accept donor human milk. Conclusions In our study, awareness of human milk banks among women in the first year postpartum was low. More mothers were willing to donate human milk than to use donor human milk to feed their children. In our study, knowledge of human milk banking was a predictor of both willingness to donate human milk and willingness to use donor human milk. Programs with detailed information on human milk banking are needed to help mothers improve their knowledge and increase acceptance of human milk banking.

Turkish Women’s Beliefs Concerning Human Milk Banking

Background: A donor milk bank provides an alternative source of human milk for mothers who cannot breastfeed or provide their own milk. Although wet-nursing is a common practice, there is currently no donor milk bank in Turkey. Research Aims: The aims of our study were (1) to determine the knowledge and opinions of Turkish women in regard to donor milk banking; and (2) to raise awareness of donor milk banking. Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional descriptive study, in which the data were collected with an online survey consisting of 22 questions. The link to the online survey was distributed through the social media accounts of the researchers, with a statement inviting women aged 18–64, who were literate and actively using social media, to participate in the survey. There were 648 female participants. Results: Of those who responded to the questionnaire, 54.1% had not previously given birth, and 54.2% had heard about donor milk banks before. The implementation of donor milk banks in Turkey was desired by 56.4% of the participants, and 50.8% of the participants considered donating their milk. It was determined that the reasons why the women did not want to benefit from donor milk banks were the risk of disease transmission to the baby and the possibility of their child marrying his or her milk sibling in the future. Conclusion: It appears that Turkish women lack information about donor milk banking. We recommend public awareness activities to be organized concerning donor milk banking.

“Donor milk banking: Improving the future”. A survey on the operation of the European donor human milk banks

Background Provision of donor human milk is handled by established human milk banks that implement all required measures to ensure its safety and quality. Detailed human milk banking guidelines on a European level are currently lacking, while the information available on the actual practices followed by the European human milk banks, remains limited. The aim of this study was to collect detailed data on the actual milk banking practices across Europe with particular emphasis on the practices affecting the safety and quality of donor human milk. Materials and methods A web-based questionnaire was developed by the European Milk Bank Association (EMBA) Survey Group, for distribution to the European human milk banks. The questionnaire included 35 questions covering every step from donor recruitment to provision of donor human milk to each recipient. To assess the variation in practices, all responses were then analyzed for each country individually and for all human milk banks together. Results A total of 123 human milk banks completed the questionnaire, representing 85% of the European countries that have a milk bank. Both inter- and intra-country variation was documented for most milk banking practices. The highest variability was observed in pasteurization practices, storage and milk screening, both pre- and post-pasteurization. Conclusion We show that there is a wide variability in milk banking practices across Europe, including practices that could further improve the efficacy of donor human milk banking. The findings of this study could serve as a tool for a global discussion on the efficacy and development of additional evidence-based guidelines that could further improve those practices.

KNOWLEDGE ON HUMAN MILK BANKING AMONG PAEDIATRIC STAFF NURSES

Background: Breastfeeding is considered as the best practice which results in optimum growth and development of infants. According to WHO and UNICEF, donor’s human milk is considered as the best alternative in situations where the mother is not able to provide adequate breast milk due to unavoidable circumstances. Objective: The objective of the study is to assess the knowledge level of paediatric staff nurses regarding Human Milk banking and to find out the association of knowledge level with their demographic variables Materials & Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in a selected hospital of Idukki district in Kerala. The data were collected from 45 Paediatric staff nurses regarding human milk banking by convenience sampling method with the use of a structured questionnaire. Results: The data results revealed that 50% of samples belonged to the age group 19 to 27 and 28 to 36 years; the majority of the samples (72%) were Christians; half of the samples (58%) were graduates; and majority of them (62%) were housewives. Concerning the level of knowledge, 15.5% of them had poor, 69% had average and 15.5% had a good level of knowledge regarding essential newborn care.