The Tesãi Foundation Maternal and Child Hospital Los Ángeles has had the Human Milk Bank since June 2015, which since its inception has processed some 1,640,000 liters of pasteurized milk. A total of 4,100 400 ml jars of pasteurized milk were stored in its almost 8 years of operation, according to the data.
The commemorative date is celebrated every May 19 and this year it bears the motto, “A small gesture can feed a big dream: Donate breast milk!”. The occasion is propitious to make a call to mothers so that they can come to donate as an act of love and solidarity, in addition to insisting on the collection of glass jars with plastic lids for the extraction, conservation and storage of donated milk. .
lactation center
Within the framework of this celebration, Dr. Migdy Flores (in charge of the service) and the technician Angélica Lima, participated on behalf of the Los Angeles Maternal and Child Hospital in the “Promotion Day of the Breastfeeding Center of the Regional Hospital of Coronel Oviedo”, at the initiative of the Comprehensive Directorate for Children and Adolescents, through the Breastfeeding Department, together with the Human Milk Bank of the San Pablo de Asunción Maternal and Child Hospital.
The Human Milk Bank Service supplies this vital food to newborns, premature babies, orphans, neonates or children hospitalized in therapy or incubators whose mothers cannot breastfeed.
A drop of milk is a drop of life
The Tesãi Foundation pays tribute to mothers who participate in the noble practice of donating breast milk to newborns who cannot be breastfed by their mothers for various reasons, such as illnesses or whose mothers are admitted to other hospitals.
Awareness
Likewise, the Hospital has been articulating an awareness and education campaign to promote and stimulate the participation of mothers in this practice, as well as disseminate the benefits of donating human milk, to save lives and promote the healthy development of newborns in the lactation phase. . Donated breast milk is stored in previously sterilized glass jars and kept frozen until use.
4,100 jars of pasteurized milk
Dr. Migdy Flores, in charge of Service, mentioned that the Human Milk Bank was set up in mid-2015 but that it began to function at the end of that year, thanks to the initiative of the Rotary Club of Ciudad del Este, the support of the Fundación para la Salud Paraguay-China Los Angeles and the hiring of professionals (biochemists and technicians) that continues to be in charge of the Tesãi Foundation.
“From that date until today we are pasteurizing approximately 4,100 400 ml jars of pasteurized milk. It is donated milk from mothers who go through a rigorous process of bacteriological control with quality certification, complying with all biosafety standards,” said the professional.
He noted that the number of mothers who donate remains stable “it is always important that all moms who have enough milk and want to donate can do so safely,” he stressed.
home collection
Collection is also done at home “we go out to collect on Thursdays, the Milk Bank has a mobile phone at your disposal. Previously we call the person to find out if she is going to be at home, we ask her if she is missing a bottle, the mothers gather for several days and we do the collection once a week, ”she said.
A Facebook page “Banco de Leche Humana CDE” has been set up. Donors can call 0986-184034, during business hours from Monday to Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Requirements to be a breast milk donor:
-Be a voluntary donor.
-Being a woman and breastfeeding.
-Be in good health.
-Have a surplus of breast milk to donate.
-Do not drink alcohol or smoke.
-Do not consume narcotic substances, as well as medications that are contraindicated for lactation.
-No history of contagious diseases, such as Hepatitis C, HIV, Syphilis.
-Not having been a transfusion donor or recipient.