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Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee opened its 20th milk drop depot location at Cookeville Regional’s Birthing Center Wednesday.
The non-profit provides safe, pasteurized human donor milk to babies in NICUs statewide. Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee Executive Director Susan Campbell said the main focus is assisting premature babies. She said some hospitals also use it as a bridge for mothers who are sick and cannot produce.
“Tiny premature babies’ intestines are just not ready to have an artificial feeding,” Campbell said. “That’s why they do so much better if they can just have human milk. If it’s not from their mother, then the next best is to have it pasteurized which is what we’re providing.”
Campbell said the Cookeville location provides the non-profit with its first location between Nashville and Knoxville. According to the Milk Banks Website, recent studies show the use of only human milk to feed preterm and low birth weight infants reduced mortality by 75 percent.
Campbell said the organization wanted to open a Milk Drop Depot in Cookeville because local mothers were being approved to donate but had to drive to Murfreesboro or Nashville to donate it.
“When you have a hospital open a drop off depot, it shows the community that they value human milk, and it may actually lead to an increase in breastfeeding rates,” Campbell said.
The website says there we 3,855 admissions to the NICU in 2023 and an estimated 60 percent of NICU moms are unable to breastfeed. Approved milk donors will be able to drop off frozen milk at the CRMC Birthing Center to be transported and donated to Mothers Milk Bank facility in Murfreesboro where the pasteurization process will begin.
Milk Bank of Tennessee is the only non-profit milk bank in Tennessee. As of right now they are only able to provide milk to NICUs across Tennessee. However, Campbell said it is in their five-year plan to provide outpatients with donor milk to take home as well.
To become a donor, you can submit a prescreening form on the organizations website.
