Donation of women's milk to the neonatology department at the Androva hospital in Mahajanga

Abstract

Background: The functioning of a milk bank begins with the donation of milk from women donors. The objective of our study was to describe the demographic profile of mothers who donate milk and their practice of donating milk in the neonatology department at the hospital Center Androva Mahajanga. Methods: This is a prospective, descriptive study over a 7-month period, from August 2019 to February 2020. Were included all healthy breastfeeding women who agreed to donate excess breast milk. Results: The participation rate of breastfeeding women in milk donation was 6.6%. Vaginal delivery was the most common (85.9%). The majority had no knowledge about milk donation (83.8%). Manual breast pumping was the most used (43.8%). The average total amount of milk collected by a mother from the beginning to the end of the donation was 613 ml. The average duration of donation by a mother was 6.4 days. Conclusions: The participation and knowledge of mothers on the donation of women's milk was low, although it can improve the survival of newborns.