Current Issues in Human Milk Banking

The demand for banked human milk has been increasing, in large part due to the benefits associated with its use. Multiple levels of safeguarding built into the current milk banking process have resulted in an unblemished safety record for banked milk in North America. Holder pasteurization destroys many pathogens in human milk while preserving much of the biologically active content. Among the potential benefits of using banked human milk in the neonatal intensive care unit are promotion of breastfeeding, reduced incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis and sepsis, and possible support of long-term positive neurodevelopmental outcomes in very low- and extremely-low birthweight infants.