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ORDER POSTPARTUM MILK

ARE YOU CURRENTLY IN FOOTHILLS HOSPITAL?

NorthernStar donor milk is available for purchase for patients who are currently admitted to Foothills Postpartum Unit 52. Please do not use the YES button above to purchase milk if you are already discharged.

If you've been discharged or you are at another hospital:

To purchase 10 bottles or less:

To order more than 10 bottles directly from NorthernStar:

Please fill out our

All families can purchase milk at select pharmacies in Alberta, when supply allows. Milk is dispensed to premature, ill, and fragile babies in hospital NICUs first.

For more information on NorthernStar's pasteurized donor milk, please read below.

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Why Donor Milk?
Why Donor Milk?

Human milk is both the biological norm and ideal nutrition for babies. It is species-specific, offering unique biological compounds, such as:

  • live cellular components,

  • immune substances & hormones,

  • other nutritional components needed for optimal growth, health & development in the newborn.

The World Health Organization, Health Canada, and the Canadian Pediatric Society recommend exclusive breastfeeding for six months, with continued breastfeeding in addition to solid foods for at least 2 years.

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Donor Milk in Hospitals
Donor Milk in Hospital NICU's
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Donor human milk has been used in NICU’s (neonatal intensive care units) as food & medicine for ill and premature infants for decades. NorthernStar Mothers Milk Bank, located in Calgary Alberta, has provided safe, pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM) to hospital NICU’s across Canada for over ten years. The benefits of human milk for all babies is well-known, and now PDHM is available to purchase at Foothills Postpartum Unit.

 

Learn more about the screening of milk donors here, and the pasteurization process and safety of our milk here.

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Benefits of Human Milk

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Mother's own milk is the best food for babies, with donor milk as the next best alternative for situations where short-term supplementation may be required, such as maternal illness, gestational diabetes, surgery, or delay of milk supply. Human milk protects the lining of babies' intestines, which are immature at birth. 

Watch this video “Feeding Baby’s Microbes” to hear Dr. Meghan Azad give a brief explanation of why human milk is so important:

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Benefits of Human Milk

Up to 10 bottles can be purchased without a prescription.

Donate to a Family in Need

If you would like to donate to families who cannot afford the cost of donor milk while they're in Foothills Hospital with their baby, please follow the link below. Staff in the Postpartum Unit will have further information for the recipients.

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Choose "Foothills Community Care Postpartum Milk" from the drop-down menu

Pharmacies & Donate to a Family
Thawing Instructions
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