The High River General Hospital has worked out a partnership with NorthernStar Mother's Milk Bank.
High River Maternity will benefit from this relationship as they will have a dispensary option for local parents wanting donated mothers' breast milk.
Some mothers have difficulties generating breastmilk and some require more for medical reasons, so they are hopeful this will fill the need.
Marie Corns, with the High River Maternity Unit, stated in a release she was thrilled with the opportunity.
“We at the High River Hospital are incredibly excited to be bringing the option of Donor Human Breastmilk to our site. We could not be more thrilled to be partnering with the Northernstar Mothers Milk Bank to provide this opportunity to families. Human Breastmilk is the biological norm for infants and has many incredible benefits."
"We know a parent’s own milk is ideal as it is specifically designed for their baby. Donor Milk remains a beneficial alternative for families who require supplementation for medical reasons or have made an informed decision to supplement for personal reasons. This initiative aims to provide an additional option for families, enables us to continue to support the Baby Friendly Initiative, while strengthening positive outcomes for families in our community.”
“Becoming a partner with the Northernstar Mother’s Milk Bank is just another step in our commitment at High River Maternity to provide equitable care to families in rural communities. The transition to parenthood can be both exciting and challenging, having more options for families to help them reach their infant feeding goals is a great step forward,” Corns notes.
The first batch of donor milk is expected to arrive Thursday, March 6.
Director of the milk bank, Janette Festival, will be delivering the first batch to the Maternity Unit at 1:30 p.m.