Finding out how Brazil has been so successful with milk banks is the goal of the American Pediatrician Lisa Hammer, who along with other health professionals at the University of Michigan (UM), visited the National Institute of Women's, Child and Teen’s Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF/Fiocruz), between August 25th and 29th. This is a great example of reverse innovation, with international university partners, providing models of success that can be deployed in the health system of UM.
In the United States, the system of milk bank falls far short of demand and is basically unregulated. "Here mother’s milk is sold for U$ 4.00 per Oz (0118 L). It was a significant barrier in Brazil and this barrier was removed”, explains Lisa Hammer, one of the professionals who visited the Institute. According to the coordinator of Product and Quality of the Brazilian Network of Human Milk Banks of IFF, Danielle Aparecida da Silva, the USA has a model that involves no responsibility of breastfeeding, no breastfeeding, unless the day to day, and this was the big difference. "Knowing how much of the population breastfeed, how to maintain high levels and how breastfeeding helped reduce infant mortality, was what called the attention of UM. Consequently they became interested in how we deal with human milk as a functional fluid, they came in search of how to handle such food", she explained.
Brazil is internationally known for its well-organized, cost-effective network, the regulation of human milk banks and broad social acceptance of breastfeeding practices and human milk donation. "The United States come to us through the Sasakawa Health Prize, this award was granted due to the differential we have. We are not only a milk bank, where the mother deposits the milk and we distribute it, we also began to work the promotion and encouragement of breastfeeding, we see human milk as a medicine. We managed to have a quality standard of a functional food and by doing that we develop food technology, and adjust it to maintain features that will serve not only a baby, but the diverse needs of several babies", said Danielle Aparecida.
Breast milk donated to a bank goes through a process of selection, classification and pasteurization and is then distributed to babies admitted to neonatal units. "This food will help the immune system, growth and development, and also assists in probiotics aspects. That is, we are very careful with this milk, we take all of its features to meet the needs of each baby", says the coordinator.
The RBLH-BR also provides education and training for employees of milk banks, conducts research on the methodology of the donated milk and the human quality control, discloses information about milk banks and collaborates with the national government in designing health public policies. The University of Michigan was the first American School of Medicine which became interested in the collaboration with the Brazilian milk bank network, and joined Brazil to learn more about this unique system and perhaps deploy it in the USA.
The delegation included physicians, nurses, nutritionists, lactation consultants and students of public health at UM. They worked directly with employees to gain practical experience and develop international projects focused on breastfeeding, human milk and infant nutrition. This experimental week should start setting the stage for an international partnership, which potentially will be a global example of how collaboration can improve children's health worldwide.
Source: IFF/Fiocruz
