Today Northwest Health – Porter announced that it has expanded its partnership with The Milk Bank by becoming a dispensation site for families picking up orders of Pasteurized Donor Human Milk (PDHM). The hospital was already a breast milk donation site since 2018, in partnership with The Milk Bank.
“As we take care of babies, we know parents are looking to us to provide trusted guidance and healthy options to ensure their babies grow to become strong and healthy,” said Stephanie Didion, director of the Birthing & Family Care Center at Northwest Health – Porter. “This new added service will offer babies in our communities access to the highly-nutritional benefits of human breast milk, in addition to still providing an opportunity for local mothers to donate their excess breast milk for our tiniest infants in need,” she said.
Human breast milk provides optimal nutrition and unique health benefits that last beyond infancy. It is also the standard food for all infants, including premature or sick infants, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The hospital current donation site at Northwest Health – Porter offers a convenient place for women who have been approved to donate their extra or unneeded breast milk. All milk is sent to The Milk Bank in Indiana to test, analyze and pasteurize before dispensing to hospitals and outpatient families.
Adding the new dispensation site has the unique ability to provide families in area communities with a readily available source of PDHM offered from The Milk Bank. Access to PDHM allows parents of healthy newborns to supplement with human milk instead of formula, providing babies with a healthy start and parents with peace of mind. PDHM can bridge a small gap for things like illness, between delivery and a successful breastfeeding routine or supplementing when medically necessary. A processing fee is charged to help offset the layers of safety involved in providing this safe medical intervention. The Milk Bank has financial assistance available for families with a medical need.
For more information, clarification on donor eligibility or how to place an order for PDHM, please contact The Milk Bank at 317-536-1670 or visit themilkbank.org.
About Northwest Health
Northwest Health is a comprehensive healthcare system committed to providing communities in Northwest Indiana with high-quality, accessible healthcare—from highly specialized care and surgical services to more routine primary care. The system of more than 60 access points includes three hospitals, five emergency departments, urgent care centers, outpatient surgery centers, an ambulance service, and physician offices. A team of more than 3,000 employees work together with the more than 700 physicians on its medical staffs. Northwest Health is owned in part by physicians. For more information, visit NWHealthIN.com.
About The Milk Bank
The Milk Bank is a non-profit tissue bank dispensing more than 400,000 ounces of pasteurized donor human milk to hospitals and families throughout the region every year. The Milk Bank improves health outcomes for premature and ill infants, fosters better health for children and decreases health care costs. The Milk Bank follows the strictest safety standards informed by the CDC and FDA and is a proud member of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA). Visit themilkbank.org to learn more.
