Kent Hospital’s Women’s Care Center starts first donor human milk program in Rhode Island

G. Wayne Miller, The Providence Journal
·2 min read

WARWICK — Kent Hospital’s Women’s Care Center has started the first pasteurized donor human milk program in Rhode Island, a service that "supports breastfeeding families by allowing them the option of providing their infant with pasteurized donor human milk, if supplementation is needed, as a bridge until a mother’s own milk is available," according to the hospital.

In announcing the program, Women's Care Center interim director Kristine Rimbos said "we are thrilled to offer donor milk as a safe, evidence-based alternative that supports our breastfeeding families. The nursing and medical team at Kent is committed to supporting feeding choices and ensuring high quality outcomes. This program is a win-win for our community and the patients that we serve.”

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The milk is provided by the Newton, Massachusetts-based Mother’s Milk Bank Northeast, which describes itself on its website as "the premier regional milk bank in the Northeastern United States," one that "employs a professional staff that provides reliable, trusted service to hospitals; compassionate, efficient support to recipient families; and friendly, expert screening to milk donors."

Donors can ship milk directly to the bank at its expense, or drop it off at the Newton location or one of several depots, including locations in West Bridgewater and South Weymouth, Massachusetts, and New London and Danbury, Connecticut.

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Said Susan Bryant, lactation consultant at the Women’s Care Center: "Kent Hospital’s commitment to a pasteurized donor human milk program, as a bridge to exclusive breastfeeding, will help our postpartum mothers achieve their breastfeeding goals, and ensure that our babies get off to their best start."

For more information on the Women’s Care Center and services such as labor and delivery rooms and a surgical delivery suite, call (401) 736-2229 or visit kentri.org/services/pregnancy.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI's first donated breast milk program launched at Kent Hospital