Learn how to prepare human milk at home for donation – 08/29/2023 – Health

Breastfeeding is extremely important for the health and development of babies, especially premature babies.

Every healthy breastfeeding woman can be a donor. Donations can be made from the mother to her own child, in the case of hospitalized babies, or from a woman who is breastfeeding and donates the surplus.

Most human milk banks carry out collection at home and provide the donor with sterilized bottles, cap and mask.

How to withdraw at home

If you have not yet received the bank material, wash a clear glass bottle with a plastic lid. Remove the label and paper from inside the cover.

• boil the pot and lid for 15 minutes and let dry on a clean cloth;
• choose a clean place that doesn’t have pets;
• trim your nails;
• wear a cap or scarf on your head and put on a mask or tie a diaper over your nose and mouth;
• wash hands and arms up to the elbow with plenty of soap and water;
• wash the breasts with water only. Dry with gauze or a clean cloth;
• massage the breasts with two or three flattened fingers, with circular movements, starting with the areola (dark part of the breasts) going to the whole breast;
• extract milk from the breasts: place your thumb above the areola, middle and index fingers below the areola, press your fingers back, squeeze and release, repeating this movement, without using force, positioning the glass below the breast beak;
• ignore the first jets of milk and start collecting directly in the pot. If you choose to use an extractor pump, sterilize the material according to the manufacturer’s instructions, before each use;
• fill the pot until there are two fingers left to complete it and, if necessary, start a new collection in another sanitized pot;
• identify the pot with your name and the date you removed the milk for the first time;
• to complete a jar that is already in the freezer, collect it in a previously sterilized glass cup and then pour it into the jar;
• human milk can stay up to 15 days in the freezer or freezer and cannot be frozen twice;
• call the human milk bank to complete the registration and schedule the collection within ten days after the date of the first collection in the bottle, to allow time for the human milk bank to do all the processing before the expiration date.

And clear your doubts

• Donating milk does not interfere with your child’s breastfeeding. Milk production depends on breast emptying, so the more you breastfeed or express, the more milk you will produce;
• foods such as hominy, dark beer, English water and sweets do not increase the production of breast milk. The best stimulus is the baby breastfeeding exclusively, on demand, with the proper technique;
• there is no weak milk, even malnourished women manage to breastfeed and nourish their children;
• bottle, pacifier and artificial teats can lead to weaning, due to nipple confusion, among other damages that can cause your baby’s health;
• stress and nervousness can disrupt milk production;
• the type of nipple and/or the size of the breasts is not decisive for the woman not being able to breastfeed, or producing little milk. In case of difficulty, look for the human milk bank or collection point closest to her residence. To do so, simply access the Global Human Milk Bank Network —an initiative of the Ministry of Health, through Fiocruz (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation)— through this website.

Sources: São Paulo State Department of Health and Fiocruz