CLEARWATER, Fla., July 11, 2013 -- -- Partnership with Prolacta Bioscience Ensures a Safe, Standardized, and Steady Supply of Pasteurized Donor Milk to Meet Feeding Needs of Premature Infants throughout BayCare Health System

CLEARWATER, Fla., July 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- BayCare Health System has announced a partnership with Prolacta Bioscience to ensure a safe, standardized, and steady supply of pasteurized donor breast milk to meet the feeding requirements of their hospitalized premature infant population. Under the partnership, Prolacta will manage the breast milk donor qualification process by conducting health screenings, blood testing, and the milk collection process for BayCare Health System's newly established BayCare Donor Milk Program. Prolacta also will conduct safety and quality testing before pasteurizing the human milk products for in-hospital use. 

BayCare is taking a leading role in the movement advocating human milk nutrition for preemies, primarily because of the growing evidence and data supporting the health benefits of an exclusive breast milk diet for premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), as opposed to cow milk-based nutrition or formula. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reinforced this with their 2012 policy statement on breastfeeding and the use of human milk pointing to a reduction in the odds of developing the often-fatal disease necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in extremely preterm infants (those born weighing 500-1250g), when fed an exclusively human milk diet, when compared to those fed a diet consisting of cow milk-based proteins. The AAP also reaffirmed their recommendation for exclusive breastfeeding of all babies in the first six months of life, since there is no substitution for the nutritional composition and antibodies in breast milk that an infant needs in its beginning stage of life. 

"While a mother's milk will always be the preferred choice, when an infant is born prematurely a mother's milk is not always immediately available. In those cases, we will rely on the generosity of mothers who donate their milk through BayCare's newly established donor milk program, so that donated milk can be safely tested and pasteurized into donor milk or human milk fortifier.  This will ensure the next best possible feeding solution to this critical infant population," said Kimberly Guy, President of St. Joseph's Women's Hospital, where about 7,000 babies are born each year.

To facilitate this partnership, BayCare's Donor Milk Program will work to increase awareness regarding the fact that moms with a surplus of breast milk can donate their extra milk, as opposed to pouring their "liquid gold" down the drain, as many mothers do without knowledge of other options. This call to action in the community is essential since growing demand of human donor milk has resulted in supply shortages, causing some hospitals to continue the use of cow milk-based nutritional and formula supplementation. The breast milk donations from BayCare's own community allow participating hospitals the opportunity to become self-sustaining. The hospital will be guaranteed a supply of donor breast milk based on the needs of their premature infant population, in part supported by the volume of milk donated by nursing mothers from within the greater Tampa Bay Area community.

"Through this program, mothers who have a surplus supply of breast milk can support our effort to maintain a steady supply of milk for premature infants in our hospitals," said Karen Howell, Director of Patient Care Services at St. Joseph's Women's Hospital. "These preemies depend on human milk nutrition in order to thrive. We envision BayCare's Donor Milk Program as community mothers feeding community babies."