At the lactarium of the Montpellier hospital (Hérault), the refrigerators are almost empty. In this establishment, the only one in the south of France authorized to collect breast milk, donations are rare. Already, at the beginning of the summer, the milk bank, which desperately lacked “white gold”, had called for the solidarity of mothers. Two months later, stocks are still low. “We are still in short supply, the situation is still critical, deplores Corinne Lena, childcare worker and coordinator of the Montpellier lactarium. Summer is always a complicated time. Moms go on vacation, and then babies, because of the hot weather, suck much more. »
But this situation has persisted since well before the summer. The drop in the birth rate, particularly in Occitania, could partly explain this drop in donations. Today, the Montpellier lactarium, like many other establishments throughout France, fails to meet the demands of the neonatal services they provide. Because these donations, they mainly benefit children born prematurely, in particular those who came into the world “below 32 weeks”, explains Corinne Lena.
For premature children, it is a real “medicine”
Breast milk indeed greatly improves their vital prognosis, and “allows to very significantly reduce the complications observed”, details the CHU of Montpellier. For premature children, it is a real “medicine”. The World Health Organization (WHO) also recommends the use of milk from lactariums, when the biological mother does not have it, or not enough, for her hospitalized child. However, it is not always possible, for a mother of a premature child, to give her own milk, explains the nursery nurse and coordinator of the Montpellier lactarium. “The situation is sometimes complicated for her, and not always conducive to optimal breastfeeding. It is to fill this gap that milk donations are essential,” says Corinne Lena.
So how can moms be supportive? Milk donation is possible for most mothers. Only those who smoke, drink alcohol or consume narcotics, as well as certain medications are not entitled to do so. Women who have recently contracted a viral infection (such as hepatitis B and C or HIV), or who have had a transfusion or an organ transplant, may also not be allowed to donate their milk. Anyway, the milk “is bacteriologically checked, pasteurized, then checked again”, indicates Corinne Lena. To donate, simply contact the milk banks directly. (see below). The lactarium provides mothers with single-use bottles. The donors must collect their milk, using a breast pump, then must freeze it and store it in their freezer.
And, most of the time, as is the case in Montpellier, the milk bank team goes directly to their homes to collect the bottles. “Once a month, everywhere in the South of France”, with regard to the Hérault lactarium, details Corinne Lena.
Donating your bed, “an essential altruistic gesture”
Véronique, mother of six children, has, for a long time, given her milk, “to the lactarium of Paris-14”, she confides. “In 1996, I had just given birth to my second child when I read an article about milk donating in a magazine. I was already expressing my milk for my daughter, so that her dad could feed her in my absence. So I contacted the milk bank. For Véronique, giving her milk was an “altruistic gesture”, essential for her. In the same way that she always gave her blood, from the age of 18, and that she was a volunteer for egg donation. “Giving what you can seems to me to be an essential component of humanity,” she continues. Maybe one day I too will need a donation. Even if I do it without expecting absolutely anything in return. »
Since 1996, Véronique has thus drawn her milk, and “Bruno, the gentleman from the Paris-14 lactarium, came every fortnight to collect the bottles that I stored in the freezer, she says. I subsequently had four other children, in 1999, 2002, 2010 and 2012, and each time I contacted the milk bank as soon as I left the maternity ward. It was always Bruno, who came to collect the milk. If he reads your article, I say hello! »
The list of all establishments in France can be found here, on the website of the Association des lactariums de France. To contact the Montpellier University Hospital lactarium: 04.67.33.66.99 or [email protected]