Donor breast milk programs in Long Island hospitals help premature babies get life-sustaining nutrition

How to feed baby Benjamin was a concern after his September preterm birth at South Shore University Hospital left him weighing a mere 3 pounds and 2 ounces.

His mother, Stephanie Devine, could not produce milk yet because of the early delivery after a severe bout with preeclampsia — a spike in high blood pressure in pregnant women that could be deadly to both mother and child, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The use of a bovine-based formula to feed the child could’ve been an option but research has shown that breast milk is ideal for infants and an important way to stave off certain life-threatening illnesses in premature babies.

Northwell Health hospital officials told the parents that there was another option to provide Benjamin with lifesaving nourishment: breast milk donated from other lactating women.

South Shore University Hospital’s breast milk donor program, which started earlier this year, is for infants that are less than 34 weeks or weigh less than 1,500 grams or 3.3 pounds. It joins several other local programs that seek to use the donated milk to produce better outcomes for premature babies.

"The donor milk program allows us to really take the pressure off of the mom for her milk to come in, so that she can focus on the baby and the baby getting the benefits of breast milk," said Patricia Quinn, the hospital’s director of maternal-child services.

Stephanie Devine and her husband, Kyle, decided to be part of the program, allowing the baby to use the donor milk for about a week before the mother’s milk came in.

"It's one less thing you have to worry about, because your body's already going through, obviously, physical stress, and then you're also going through emotional stress," said Stephanie Devine, who lives in Holtsville with her family.

To get the milk for the program, the hospital works with the New York Milk Bank, which gets the fluid from screened donors.

The New York Milk Bank’s inspection process includes phone screening and a blood test for diseases such as HIV. The donated milk is then pasteurized and frozen.

Once milk is ordered by a facility, it’s overnighted to the hospital and inventoried. Before the baby is given the milk, the parents must consent.

Thus far, eight infants have received the donor milk at South Shore. Hospital officials say that they expect somewhere between 15 and 20 people to use the program this year.

"So, when the option of having donor milk so far has came up, we haven't had any hesitancy," said Wendi Andria, clinical program manager of lactation services.

The donor milk is used until the child is about 34 weeks, or when the mother’s milk comes in.

Prematurity — when an infant is born under 37 weeks — is a top cause of death of babies, research shows. Donor milk may be a key way to avoid those outcomes, experts say.

A 2024 study funded by the National Institutes of Health looked at 485 infants, split into two groups; one group received human donor milk and the other was given formula. The infants who received the formula were more likely to get necrotizing enterocolitis — a life-threatening condition where the intestine’s tissue lining is swollen, government researchers said.

The condition is among the top causes of death in preterm infants, researchers said in a 2024 report, noting that it is estimated that an infant dies from the condition each day in the United States.

Despite the benefits of human donor milk, there remain some gaps in its availability.

A survey from the CDC said out of about 615 hospitals in the country that had neonatal intensive care units, 13% said that donor milk wasn’t on hand for babies with very low birth weight.

The CDC said possible barriers to using donor milk for infants might include a lack of availability of it at hospitals, not knowing about milk banking and logistical challenges.

Northwell Health said that seven of its 10 birthing hospitals have a donor milk program. Stony Brook Children's Hospital also has one, while Nassau University Medical Center said it doesn’t.

Catholic Health said Wednesday that Good Samaritan University Hospital has state authorization to order donor breast milk, adding that Mercy Hospital also uses donor milk. They both source it from the New York Milk Bank.

Before the program started at South Shore University Hospital, staff there said that the lactation team would work with mothers to produce milk for premature babies. If that doesn’t work, the babies could be given formula.

And in certain circumstances, those infants would be transferred to another hospital so that they can get donor milk.

Benjamin Devine is now back home, weighing more than 6 pounds, and healthy.

Stephanie Devine, who would consider donating milk if she could produce enough, equated using donor milk to donating blood.

"If they need blood, you of course, would donate. It’s the same thing for mothers or for babies who need milk ... for those nutrients," she said, later noting: "It's kind of a no brainer."

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Education: Howard University 

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith came to Newsday in 2023 after being a race and history reporter at USA TODAY, where she wrote enterprise and spot articles examining how the past shapes the present. Previously, she worked as the race and justice reporter at the USA TODAY Network of New York, covering issues such as criminal justice reform, housing, environmental justice, health care and politics. At The Journal News/lohud.com in Westchester County, she covered Yonkers, the state's third-largest city. She also worked at The Associated Press in Atlanta.

Honors and Awards: Criminal justice reporting fellowship with the National Press Foundation;  New York News Publishers Association award for distinguished investigative reporting;  Contributed reporting for Best of Gannett honor; Member of Table Stakes, a program funded by the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and managed by the American Press Institute to transform local news.