Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford is offering pasteurized donor breast milk to parents who want to feed their newborns exclusively with breast milk without supplementation.

The new maternity services options will provide parents with the option of feeding their babies pasteurized breast milk from Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast in Massachusetts. The offer is only available to babies who are patients at SMHC.

In order to qualify, new parents must want to exclusively feed babies breast milk. Parents also must have an inadequate milk supply, be taking medications that are contraindicated for breast feeding, or be separated from their baby.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this new services to patients at The Birthing Suite at SMHC,” Birthing Suite nurse manager Amy Desmond said. “We know that breast milk provides many health benefits to babies, but for a variety of reasons, it’s not always possible for new parents to breastfeed exclusively. Donor breast milk can fill that gap.”

Donor breast milk is also available at other MaineHealth hospitals including Maine Medical Center, LincolnHealth Miles Memorial Hospital, Pen Bay Medical Center and Waldo County General Hospital. Parents can create an account with Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast if they would like to continue to purchase donor breast milk after leaving the hospital.

MaineHealth on its breastfeeding support website states that scientific evidence shows that breast milk provides the best nutrition for babies. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that women breastfeed their babies for the first six months of their lives.

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