ST. LOUIS — August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month and SSM Health has a new program for mothers who need assistance.
"I feel like a hero," says Marlene Holt.
Holt is a Milk Donor for SSM Health.
"I was pumping, and I was filling up the deep freeze. And then one day, I was like, there's just so much milk here. I did not know what to do. My mother in law, she is a retired SSM Cardinal Glennon nurse, and she would get pulled from the oncology to the NICU, she told me that they had donor milk, and I didn't even know that was a thing. And I was like, okay, I'll try to donate my milk," she says.
It’s proven that those first days of babies' lives can dramatically improve with the support of human breast milk. This is why in partnership with The Milk Bank, SSM Health in St. Louis announces it will now provide lifesaving pasteurized donated human breast milk for babies in need at each of the health system’s St. Louis Family Birthplace Centers.
"We're excited to share with our community that we're kind of the first hospital system in the region that we both expanded our donor milk use within our facilities, and we are expanding it to all of our SSM Health hospitals that deliver babies, that donor milk is available at all hospitals per parental preference when there's a need to supplement on top of direct breastfeeding," says Dr. Kathryn Hanson, Neonatologist at SSM.
Previously, donor milk was reserved for the most critically ill, small babies that were in the NICU, but now, donor milk is available for all babies born at SSM hospitals. There are a lot of different reasons why a newborn, when they're in their first hospitalization after being born, may need more than just direct breastfeeding from mom.
"Maybe the mother doesn't have a supply, or maybe she’s going to a surgery, or where you might you know just direct breastfeeding is not enough," Hanson says.
It’s a mission that hits home for Marlene.
"I definitely understand what it feels like not being able to breastfeed because when my daughter was born, she had to be on formula. My milk didn't come in, and it was really hard for me, but thankfully, she did decide to latch Finally, after probably the third month, right before I had to go back to work," she says.
And now, she is a hero, helping other families by donating this life-saving, critical resource.
This program is available at each Family Birthplace Center, including SSM Health DePaul Hospital – St. Louis, St. Clare Hospital - Fenton, St. Mary’s Hospital – St. Louis, and St. Joseph Hospital – Lake St. Louis.
For more information about the human donor milk program at SSM Health in St. Louis, visit ssmhealth.com/breastfeeding and themilkbank.org.
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