Newswise — Multiple studies show that breast milk is the ideal source of nutrition for babies and has proven benefits, including providing antibodies that increase protection from illnesses. The most recent research suggests that breastfed children have less risk of suffering from learning difficulties in the future.
To ensure that all babies have access to exclusive feeding with breast milk during their stay at Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center, the nursing team has created a unique program that provides supplemental nutrition with human donor milk instead of infant formula.
“The goal of our program is to help new parents maintain exclusive feeding with breast milk, even when their baby needs supplementation,” said Donna Lacorazza, RN, nurse manager of the Mother-Baby Unit at Hackensack University Medical Center which is ranked among the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care for 2022-23 by U.S. News & World Report. “Evidence shows that breast milk is the best form of newborn nutrition, so we decided to implement our program to increase the number of mothers who are exclusively feeding their babies breast milk when they are discharged from the hospital.”
It is the first time a Hackensack Meridian Health hospital provided breast milk to children in need of supplementation, outside of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Nearly 30 families opted to participate in the program during the first month it was offered.
“As an OBGYN, I encourage mothers to breastfeed because breast milk contains the perfect combination of fat, protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins that newborns need,” says Melanie Kaufer, MD, obstetrician-gynecologist and international board certified lactation consultant with Hackensack University Medical Center. Dr. Kaufer, a mother of three, says after the birth of her third child, she was having trouble producing enough milk to feed her newborn son and formula really wasn’t an option for her. “My son needed to spend some time in the neonatal intensive care unit before we could take him home and I was so relieved to find out that the hospital had a donor milk program which we were able to benefit from,” says Dr. Kaufer, who was so grateful that, after she went home and started pumping her own milk, she donated about 100 ounces to the milk bank Hackensack University Medical Center receives their supplies from.
That milk bank carefully screens, preserves, and stores all breast milk donations, in accordance with strict safety guidelines and best practices. Mothers will receive information on the program upon admission to the Labor and Delivery Unit and will be asked to consent to participation.
“This program has been available to babies in our NICU [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit] for years, and it has been so successful that we are expanding it to every infant in our Well-Baby unit,” said Kristen Giordano, RNC-MNN, C-IAP, nurse manager of the High-Risk Antepartum Unit and Lactation Services at Hackensack University Medical Center.
“Although supplementation with donor milk is not as beneficial as putting a baby to the breast, it is a much better option when compared to infant formula in the first few days of life.”
“I am so appreciative of the donor milk my son was able to receive, I wanted to pay it forward,” says Dr. Kaufer, “this program is the next best thing to mother’s own milk.”
ABOUT HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
Hackensack University Medical Center, a 803-bed nonprofit teaching and research hospital, was Bergen County’s first hospital founded in 1888. It was also the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet®-recognized hospital for nursing excellence, receiving its sixth consecutive designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The academic flagship of the Hackensack Meridian Health network, Hackensack University Medical Center is Nationally-Ranked by U.S. News & World Report 2022-2023 in four specialties, more than any other hospital in New Jersey. The hospital is home to the state's only nationally-ranked Urology and Neurology & Neurosurgery programs, as well as the best Cardiology & Heart Surgery program. It also offers patients nationally-ranked Orthopedic care and one of the state’s premier Cancer Centers (John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center). Hackensack University Medical Center also ranked as High-Performing in conditions such as Acute Kidney Failure, Heart Attack (AMI), Heart Failure, Pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Diabetes and Stroke. As well as High Performing in procedures like Aortic Valve Surgery, Heart Bypass Surgery (CABG), Colon Cancer Surgery, Lung Cancer Surgery, Prostate Cancer Surgery, Hip Replacement and Knee Replacement. Named to Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals 2023 list, Hackensack University Medical Center is also the recipient of the 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ by Healthgrades as well as an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group. This award-winning care is provided on a campus that is home to facilities such as the Heart & Vascular Hospital; and the Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women’s and Children’s Pavilion, which houses the Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital and the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital, ranked #1 in the state and top 20 in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-23 Best Children’s Hospital Report. Additionally, the children’s nephrology program ranks in the top 50 in the United States. Hackensack University Medical Center is also home to the Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center and is listed on the Green Guide’s list of Top 10 Green Hospitals in the U.S. Our comprehensive clinical research portfolio includes studies focused on precision medicine, translational medicine, immunotherapy, cell therapy, and vaccine development. The hospital has embarked on the largest healthcare expansion project ever approved by the state: Construction of the Helena Theurer Pavilion, a 530,000-sq.-ft., nine-story building, which began in 2019. A $714.2 million endeavor, the pavilion is one the largest healthcare capital projects in New Jersey and will house 24 state-of-the-art operating rooms with intraoperative MRI capability, 50 ICU beds, and 175 medical/surgical beds including a 50 room Musculoskeletal Institute.
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH
Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care. The network has 18 hospitals and more than 500 patient care locations, which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers, physician practice locations, and a fitness and wellness center. With more than 35,000 team members and 7,000 physicians, Hackensack Meridian Health is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy and committed to the health and well-being of communities throughout New Jersey.
The network’s notable distinctions include having more U.S. News-ranked hospitals than any other health system in New Jersey, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report, 2022-23. Hackensack University Medical Center is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in four specialties, more than any other hospital in New Jersey. Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center, and K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, are ranked #1 in the state and top 20 in the Mid-Atlantic Region by U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-23 Best Children’s Hospital Report. Additionally, their combined nephrology program ranks in the top 50 in the United States. To learn more, visit www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org.
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