Would mothers in South Australia welcome a human milk bank?

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The benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and babies are well recognized. When a mother’s own breast milk is insufficient, donor breast milk is recommended as an alternative, particularly for preterm and other high-risk infants. The abstract notes that Australia lags behind the rest of the developed world in establishing and promoting human milk banks; there was no human milk bank in South Australia, and little was known about mothers’ perceptions of using one there.

The study explored mothers’ knowledge of and attitudes toward human milk banks to inform policies and guidelines if a bank were established in South Australia. Researchers conducted in-depth semistructured interviews with 12 mothers who were breastfeeding and/or had preterm or sick babies. They also held two focus groups to address questions raised by early analysis of the individual interviews: one with breastfeeding mothers as potential donors (n = 5), and one with mothers of preterm or high-risk infants (n = 4).

Breastfeeding mothers, as potential donors, unanimously supported donating their milk to a human milk bank, provided it was easy—especially if they had to drop off milk—and not overly time consuming. Mothers of preterm or sick infants would use a milk bank if assured that the milk was safe and appropriate for their babies. The participants would welcome access to a human milk bank in South Australia for both donating and receiving milk.