Pennsylvania’s first breast milk bank to open in Pittsburgh
(Pittsburgh) — Pennsylvania’s first breast milk bank is opening in Pittsburgh.
Three Rivers Mothers’ Milk Bank is opening in late summer or early fall.
Organizers say it will make breast milk available to babies in neonatal intensive-care units when their mothers are unavailable.
Breast milk will also be given to outpatient babies who can’t receive it from their mothers due to allergies or other problems.
The president of the milk bank says they expect to distribute about 50,000 ounces–or 390 gallons–of breast milk its first year.
She says milk banks fund themselves by charging hospitals per ounce of milk.
There are 18 active milk banks in the U.S. and Canada and 10 banks in development, including one at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
This article originally appeared on witf.org.
