Hospital appeals for breast milk for premature babies

Picture: Tracey Adams/African News Agency (ANA)

Picture: Tracey Adams/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Nov 19, 2020

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Amid a breast milk shortage brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Tygerberg Hospital has embarked on its annual donation drive.

During the month of November, the hospital is observing World Preemie Month to coincide with World Prematurity Day on November 17.

The LatchOn! Breast Milk Drive, organised by the Tygerberg Hospital Children’s Fund in partnership with the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Health Department, will hold online events and contests to raise awareness and encourage donations.

This year, Tygerberg's annual World Preemie Month fun walk will take place virtually, and participants can win prizes by sharing pictures on social media. Photo: Supplied

The drive comes after a period of decreased donations for a hospital that tends to the most prematurely-born infants in the country, with wards typically running at full capacity all year round with up to 135 infants every day.

“There’s a shortage because people are not really coming to Tygerberg Hospital any more because of Covdi-19,” said chief executive of the Tygerberg Hospital Children’s Trust, Jason Falken. “The stresses of this year have caused moms to not produce milk as expected. There are also social factors leading moms to go onto formula instead of breastfeeding. There’s a perception that formula is better, but it’s not.”

Premature infants, or preemies, are defined as those weighing less than 1½ kilograms at birth, with some infants weighing as little as 400 grams.

“The point of this campaign is to invigorate our own chain of supply and there’s various elements to that,” Falken explained. “How to donate breast milk, how to educate moms, and how to go through screening and counselling processes before donated milk is accepted.”

In addition to breast milk, the hospital is also calling for donations of 250ml glass jars in which mothers can express their milk into.

“We want to create a functioning ecosystem around breastfeeding and breast milk donations,” Falken added. There are spaces where we can access moms who can support our moms.”

During the month, the hospital will host its annual fun walk, though in digital form, in which participants can walk 5km and upload pictures to social media, through which they can win prizes. There will also be in-house activities for nurses at the hospital.

The hospital’s services are essential to mothers such as Danica Rezandt, whose 13-year-old daughter Hope was a patient of the ward and recipient of the drive.

“She was born in 2007 weighing 820g at six months,” Rezandt said. “My water had broken and I was in and out of the hospital all the time. When she was born, she only had a 10% chance of survival. We were at Tygerberg for two months and then we came through for another month after that.”

Since then, Rezandt and her daughter have made regular trips to Tygerberg’s wards, offering counselling and support for mothers.

“When she was born, I didn’t have milk,” Rezandt explained. “I benefited from this drive and we don’t know that much about these things. They explained it to me and because of that I know how important something like this is.”

Rezandt added: “It was extremely scary because you don’t know what’s going to happen. People need a lot of support and help. Milk doesn’t generate the way it’s supposed when you’re giving birth to a premature baby.”

Dr Miemie du Preez, a neonatologist at Tygerberg Hospital, said breast milk was preferential to baby formula due to its immediate impact on the infant’s health.

“Literally, the moment breast milk reaches the baby’s abdomen, it grows their bowels, increasing their mass by 43%” she explained.

“Not only that, but you could pour breast milk on top of growing bacteria and it will kill it.”

The biggest medical concern with premature infants is necrotising enterocolitis, which affects the bowels, and has a survival rate during surgery to remedy it of only 40%.

“The mommies of premature babies are usually not healthy women,” Du Preez said.

There’s a higher incident rate among ill and nutritionally-poor moms. Quite often, these moms cannot produce milk soon enough and it’s a problem for these babies. We are really asking for donor milk so we can feed them safely.”

Du Preez said it costs the hospital up to R1 million a year to purchase its supply of breast milk at a price of R900 a litre.

“People have this idea that because it’s so expensive, they need to be paid,” Du Preez said.

“Every cent of that cost goes into testing the milk and making it safe for consumption. People don’t make any money on it, it’s an act of love. Like donating blood, it saves lives. It’s close to a million a year just to buy milk for the babies that need it.”

Weekend Argus

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Health Welfare