Pediatrics & Health Research Open Access

Impact of Human Milk Bank on feeding practices in a level 3 NICU and medical team's attitude towards donor's milk use

34^th European Pediatrics Congress

May 18-19, 2022 | Webinar

Orrego Castellanos J

Medical University of Gda�?sk, Poland

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Ped Health Res

Abstract:

Breast feeding is the optimal feeding practice for neonates, providing direct health benefits for both the child and the mother. Through the implementation of local human milk banks (HMB), our research aims to determine their effect on exclusively breastfed neonates, to recognize the midwifes’ attitudes towards the use of donor’s milk (DM), and the burden of medical staff in the NICU. 468 neonates born between December 2018 (before the HMB introduction) and December 2019 (after the HMB introduction) at the Medical University of Gda�?sk, Poland, participated in the study. Retrospective gathering of information was performed. Since the assemblage of the HMB, there was significant increment in feeding newborns using breast milk compared to formula milk (p=<0.01 before, p=0.005 after HMB). These also improved the midwifes’ attitude towards the use of DM significantly, acknowledging its importance (68,7% before, 93,8% after HMB) and its safety (65,7% before, 97,9% after HMB). Though certain aspects of the HMB increased burden for the medical staff. Various studies have shown the positive impact breast milk has, including the reduction of prematurity complications, atopic diseases, infections and obesity while enhancing cognitive performance in children. Various organizations like the AAP and the WHO, strongly support exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life and its continuation throughout the introduction of solid foods for the first 2 years. These findings further support the relevance of our study, highlighting the importance and benefits of expansion of HMB worldwide as well as increasing education for mothers regarding DM.

Biography :

Juliana Orrego Castellanos is a 6th year medical student at the Medical University of Gda�?sk, Poland. She has two bachelor degrees from Florida Atlantic University, USA, in Developmental Neuroscience and in Psychology. Juliana was awarded the Shipley Glick Award for Outstanding Medical Student in 2019. She has served as president for Phi Delta Epsilon International Medical Fraternity, Epsilon Theta chapter, the Pediatric Cardiology Scientific Circle and Pathophysiology and Rheumatology Scientific Circle at MUG. She has a publication on the topic of pediatric dermatology.