Donation of breast milk: the move of the Marmande lactarium planned for June 2024 requires a strengthening of breast milk donations

2024-02-14 16:31:26

The breastmilkvital for newborns and particularly “very premature” babies

Breast milk is vital for the most vulnerable hospitalized newborns, in particular “very premature” babies (birth before 32 weeks of amenorrhea, that is to say at the beginning of the 8th month of pregnancy) and/or with a weight less than 1500g). Nutrition of these children with breast milk greatly reduces the risk of complications linked to prematurity and promotes good long-term cognitive development.

However, the breast milk needs of premature children, despite the efforts of neonatology professionals, cannot be fully covered by their own mothers. The anonymous donation of breast milk is therefore of major importance for these premature children. It is the 33 lactariums present on French territory which manage all of these donations and milk stocks. A breastfeeding woman can thus directly contact a lactarium and donate her milk, which will subsequently be controlled, pasteurized and frozen before being redistributed in the neonatal units which care for more than 10,000 babies each year. very premature babies throughout the country.

Milk from anonymous donations is in the majority of cases distributed frozen and must be stored below -18°C before its use by the healthcare service. These logistical constraints in terms of maintaining the cold chain can be complex, especially when milk banks and neonatal units are far away, as can be the case in the overseas territories where breast milk sometimes comes from mainland France.

Thus, 11 health establishments located in overseas departments and communities use donated breast milk, freeze-dried after pasteurization and freezing by the Marmande lactarium, the only lactarium in France to be equipped with freeze-dryers. Breast milk is then produced in the form of reconstituted powder, which can be transported and stored at room temperature for 18 months (compared to 8 months for frozen pasteurized milk).

Due to the move of the Marmande lactarium to the Bordeaux university hospital center in June 2024, the production of freeze-dried milk will be suspended for at least six months from this date.

A necessary national mobilization to build up a stock of breast milk

To anticipate this prolonged shutdown, it is necessary to build up a stock of freeze-dried milk produced by the Marmande lactarium, which requires an increase in the number of donations. After identifying the stakeholders concerned, the ADLF (Association of Lactariums of France), with the support of the health authorities, deployed a campaign calling for donations to raise awareness among breastfeeding women about milk donation, and to collect all surplus milk. maternal available in mainland France.

In order to have a sufficient quantity of freeze-dried milk for the DROM-COM, while maintaining the delivery of donated milk to children hospitalized in mainland France, national collection must increase. The health authorities have also released 1.9 million euros to enable lactariums to manage this additional collection. The General Directorate of Health is also mobilizing to relay communication from the ADLF so that the collection increases until the date of resumption of the Pessac lactarium (scheduled for the end of 2024).

We invite all stakeholders concerned to follow and relay this initiative in order to allow premature newborns in the coming months to have access to the resources of donated breast milk, which they need.

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