Stewart Memorial Community Hospital (SMCH) has now become a Milk Collection Depot for the Mother’s Milk Bank of Iowa. This means that it now has the proper equipment to accept and store donated breast milk, which is then distributed to infants in need in our state and around the nation.
In 2022, milk was dispensed to 48 hospitals in ten states. More than two decades of research have established that human milk is the perfect food for infants. It protects them from illness, ear infections, rashes, allergies, and even hospitalizations.
Human milk is even more important for premature infants. It is full of immune system boosters and infection-fighting factors, and contains unique proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and enzymes necessary for infants to survive.
Milk donors must answer a verbal questionnaire, fill out a written questionnaire, allow their health care providers to be contacted, and agree to a blood test.
This process can be started by contacting Heidi Baudhuin at (319) 384-9930 or heidi-baudhuin@uiowa.edu. Once you’re approved, you must be willing to pump and store milk according to the Milk Bank’s standards. From there, you may contact SMCH OB Director Susan Stevens, RN, at (712) 464-4139 to coordinate your delivery details.
