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Shenker N, Staff M, Vickers A, Aprigio J, Tiwari S, Nangia S, Sachdeva RC, Clifford V, Coutsoudis A, Reimers P, Israel‐Ballard K, Mansen K, Mileusnic‐Milenovic R, Wesolowska A, van Goudoever JB, Hosseini M, Klotz D, Grøvslien AH, Weaver G. Maintaining human milk bank services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic: A global response. Matern Child Nutr 2021; 17:e13131. [PMID: 33403779 PMCID: PMC7883204 DOI: 10.1111/mcn.13131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
If maternal milk is unavailable, the World Health Organization recommends that the first alternative should be pasteurised donor human milk (DHM). Human milk banks (HMBs) screen and recruit milk donors, and DHM principally feeds very low birth weight babies, reducing the risk of complications and supporting maternal breastfeeding where used alongside optimal lactation support. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a range of challenges to HMBs worldwide. This study aimed to understand the impacts of the pandemic on HMB services and develop initial guidance regarding risk limitation. A Virtual Collaborative Network (VCN) comprising over 80 HMB leaders from 36 countries was formed in March 2020 and included academics and nongovernmental organisations. Individual milk banks, national networks and regional associations submitted data regarding the number of HMBs, volume of DHM produced and number of recipients in each global region. Estimates were calculated in the context of missing or incomplete data. Through open-ended questioning, the experiences of milk banks from each country in the first 2 months of the pandemic were collected and major themes identified. According to data collected from 446 individual HMBs, more than 800,000 infants receive DHM worldwide each year. Seven pandemic-related specific vulnerabilities to service provision were identified, including sufficient donors, prescreening disruption, DHM availability, logistics, communication, safe handling and contingency planning, which were highly context-dependent. The VCN now plans a formal consensus approach to the optimal response of HMBs to new pathogens using crowdsourced data, enabling the benchmarking of future strategies to support DHM access and neonatal health in future emergencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Shenker
- Department of Surgery and CancerImperial College LondonLondonUK
- Human Milk FoundationRothamsted InstituteHertfordshireUK
| | - Marta Staff
- The Centre for Simulation, Analytics and Modelling (CSAM)University of Exeter Business SchoolExeterUK
| | - Amy Vickers
- Mothers' Milk Bank of North Texas; Human Milk Bank Association of North AmericaFort WorthTexasUSA
| | - Joao Aprigio
- Ibero‐American Human Milk Bank Program, National Milk Bank Service of Brazil, Fernandes Figueira Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation – FIOCRUZMinistry of Health – BrazilBrasíliaBrazil
| | - Satish Tiwari
- Human Milk Banking Association of IndiaDr Punjabrao Deshmukh Memorial Medical CollegeAmravatiIndia
| | - Sushma Nangia
- National Human Milk Bank, Department of NeonatologyLady Hardinge Medical College & Kalawati Saran Children's HospitalNew DelhiIndia
- Vatsalya Maatri Amrit Kosh ‐ the National Comprehensive Lactation Management Centre, Department of NeonatologyLady Hardinge Medical College and Kalawati Saran Children's HospitalNew DelhiIndia
| | | | - Vanessa Clifford
- Australian Red Cross Lifeblood MilkWest MelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Anna Coutsoudis
- HMBASA (Human Milk Banking Association of South Africa)South Africa
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu‐NatalDurbanSouth Africa
| | - Penny Reimers
- HMBASA, iThembu Lethu Community Milk BankRossburghSouth Africa
| | | | - Kimberly Mansen
- Maternal, Newborn, Child Health and NutritionPATHSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | | | - Aleksandra Wesolowska
- Laboratory of Human Milk and Lactation Research, Regional Human Milk Bank in Holy Family Hospital, Department of Medical BiologyMedical University of WarsawWarsawPoland
| | - Johannes B. van Goudoever
- Dutch National Human Milk Bank, Amsterdam UMCUniversity of Amsterdam, Emma Children's HospitalAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Mohammadbagher Hosseini
- Department of NeonatologyTabriz University of Medical Sciences, Neonatal and Perinatal Department, Alzahra Teaching HospitalTabrizIran
- Full Professor of Neonatology, Pediatric Health Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical SciencesTabrizIran
| | - Daniel Klotz
- Center for Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care Medicine, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Faculty of MedicineUniversity of FreiburgFreiburgGermany
| | - Anne Hagen Grøvslien
- Milk Bank Manager, Norwegian Accredited Breastfeeding Consultant, Multi‐cultural Healthcare Consultant, Department of PediatricsOslo University HospitalOsloNorway
| | - Gillian Weaver
- Human Milk FoundationRothamsted InstituteHertfordshireUK
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