March 2011
Minister for Health David Davis
with mum Melissa Italia and newborn twins Chloe and Jake at the
Mercy Hospital for Women.
Mercy Health opens breastmilk bank
Health Minister David Davis said
the Mercy Health Breastmilk Bank would collect, screen, pasteurise and store
donor milk for sick, premature and extremely small babies whose mothers could
not supply sufficient milk.
Mr Davis said the bank was an
important initiative which would greatly benefit sick and premature babies and
their mothers.
‘This is world-class work and
further demonstration of why Mercy Hospital for Women and Mercy Health itself
have such a reputation for excellence in supporting the health of women and the
most vulnerable of humans, very small babies,’ Mr Davis said.
‘This service will provide an important
first start for hundreds of vulnerable Victorian babies each year and give them
the best possible start to life.’
Head of Unit at Mercy Health
Breastmilk Bank Gillian Opie said mothers of very premature babies would now
have access to pasteurised donor milk, containing human specific proteins and
oligosaccharides for protection against infectious diseases and to establish
immunity.
‘Mercy Hospital for Women each
year provides care to some 1,200 babies, 300 of whom are born very early and
small – before 32 weeks gestation and less than 1,500 grams birth
weight,’ Dr Opie said.
‘For these vulnerable babies we prefer to use mother’s own breastmilk but, should their mothers have insufficient milk, pasteurised donor milk makes a very real difference to their prospects in the first days of their lives.’
