It is the very smallest children, both newborns and premature babies, who have a great need for breast milk. Anyone who has just given birth cannot always provide their child with breast milk themselves due to complications with their milk production. There is now a shortage of breast milk at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg.
– With us, the most premature babies are cared for and for them there is no suitable breast milk substitute and then we become dependent on donations. We have not seen such low levels of the most nutritious milk as we have now before, says Margrét Johansson Gudjónsdóttir, chief physician at Sahlgrenska.
At the hospital, they usually expect that 50 liters of breast milk will be consumed per month, but in February a whopping 75 liters were consumed.
– We are already at the store for the month of May, says Margrét.
They nutritionally test all the milk they receive and, just like in grocery stores, the milk is divided into red, green and blue according to how nutritious the milk is.
– The first thing we do is that we have to limit, because it is the very least children who have the highest priority. We have had to lower the limit for this red milk, which has the highest nutritional content, to children weighing one and a half kilos receiving it.
Children who are older than that instead receive compensation from elsewhere, which can affect their well-being. Newborns’ intestinal function is not fully developed yet, which means that replacement can give them a stomach ache.
They can donate breast milk
Up to three months after giving birth, breast milk is nutritious enough to be donated. They point out that if you donate milk, the milk for your own child does not get worse.
To give milk, one should not smoke or snuff. You must also not have problems with alcohol or drugs. Blood transfusions, tattoos and certain medications can also make donating unsuitable.
– The rules are somewhat the same as for blood transfusions, says Margrét Johansson Gudjónsdóttir.
If you want to donate breast milk, you should contact the nearest Children’s Care Center (BVC).