In the Overseas Territories, an appeal for the donation of breast milk for premature babies

In the Overseas Territories, an appeal for the donation of breast milk for premature babies

While the only milk factory that supplies hospitals overseas has to close for several months, the Ministry of Health is calling for an increase in donations to avoid a temporary shortage of supplies of this milk intended for premature babies.

Not only blood or organs are donated, breast milk is also donated », reports a report from The 1st. And hospitals abroad are in high demand, because health authorities fear a shortage freeze-dried milkor from donations, in overseas territories.

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This milk is intended for newborns with certain pathologies or very premature babies. It is given to them when the mother does not have enough milk to feed her hospitalized baby, or when she cannot do so due to medical contraindications.

Production suspended for six months

Therefore, this milk is collected and stored in milk banks, of which there are 34 in France. Only two are abroad, in Martinique and Guyana, he reports again The 1st. But the latter cannot currently collect anonymous donations and operate only for the internal needs of the hospitals in Fort-de-France and Cayenne, and not elsewhere.


Thus, to meet the needs of all overseas hospitals, a dairy farmer based in Marmande, Lot-et-Garonne, takes care of them. But from June 2024 it will have to move to the University Hospital of Bordeaux and its production of freeze-dried milk will be suspended for at least six months.

More premature babies abroad than in metropolitan France

To avoid shortages of supplies in this period, the Ministry of Health therefore invited on February 14th to “ a necessary national mobilization », in particular for the overseas territories, which record a greater number of premature births than metropolitan France. Because in 2022, 1.7% of living children born in overseas territories they were extremely early and extremely premature, compared to 1.1% in mainland France.

Premature babies who on average need 18 to 20 liters of milk during hospitalization. So, second Jean-Charles Picaudpresident of the Association of Dairy Farmers of France (ADLF), “ A bottle of 100 ml of milk per day for 15 days is sufficient ” For ” allow another child to live “, he has declared The 1st.

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Source: Madmoizelle

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