COLUMBUS, Ohio - Haitian infants lack the breast milk. Mother's Milk Bank of Ohio, which is located in Victorian Village in Columbus, donated about 500 ounces of breast milk in 140 bottles.
Milk from nursing mothers in Ohio is on its way to Haiti. The shipment will have reached the USS Comfort Naval Hospital, set just off the coast of Haiti, by Thursday evening, reports ABC 6 On Your Side.
This Mother’s Milk Bank of Ohio - one of ten milk banks located in North America. Breast milk donations are being collected through a regional group called Mother's Milk Banks. Typically these banks provide breast milk to preemies and medically fragile babies in US hospitals.
Donated milk is tested for bacteria, pasteurized, and then screened again before being stored in a freezer. The milk can be frozen for up to a year. Mothers, who want to donate their milk, could contact their regional Mothers’ Milk Bank of HMBANA. Information and list of regional milk banks is available at www.hmbana.org Donor mothers must be in good general health and not regularly using medication or herbal supplements.
Breast milk is a valuable source of nutrients and protection against infection for babies. It contains appropriate amounts of carbohydrate, protein, and fat. Also, breast milk provides minerals, vitamins, the digestive proteins and hormones that infants need.
Meanwhile, estimates of the numbers killed in the Haitian earthquake range from 100,000 to 200,000. The massive earthquake in Haiti, which hit country two weeks ago, has left an estimated 1.5 million people homeless and tens of thousands without access to medical supplies, water and food.
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