Hi everyone
Infants with severe acute malnutrition under six months of age. The World Health Organization recommends that all babies under 6 months of age be exclusively breastfed in order to provide them with optimal nutrition and protect them from infectious diseases. This is especially important for children who are severely malnourished. The health services must provide special support to the mothers of these children to breastfeed them, in addition to treating them with antibiotics. If there is no realistic possibility to breastfeed a severely malnourished child, the family may need breast milk from another woman; Such as a family member, neighbour, nursing woman, or milk bank. If this is not possible, they will need dairy products to feed their children and support their safe preparation and use.
Do WHO recommendations in this regard mean that there will likely be therapeutic feeding centres (TFCs) linked to special milk banks, or will dairy products be allowed to feed children?
Hi -
This is a great question and apologies for the delay in my response. Although WHO is currently developing guidelines on human milk banking, this is focusing on use in neonate wards/NICUs; not emergency scenarios. Therapeutic feeding centers linked to human milk banks are not currently planned as far as I know - this would be an interesting approach. There has long been discussions around how can donor human milk be safely provided in emergency situations - current human milk bank models are not for these situations and global sharing of donor human milk in emergencies is not yet feasible or structured. The recent situation in Ukraine and the assistance provided from Poland is helpful and they are convening webinars discussing how they have assisted in provision of donor human milk - this is linked with Unicef I believe.
Ultimately, investment is needed to further explore the appropriate role that donor human milk can play in emergency situations - from a safety and feasibility perspective. If appropriate, then systems could be put in place - and would need to be based on evidence.
Answered:
1 year agoI am sceptical of how realistic it is to have milk banks in emergencies, or indeed, for any situation other than premature infants in NICUs. However, the great news is that UNICEF is currently working on guidelines for wetnursing, particularly in emergencies.
Answered:
1 year ago