Milk’s donation are in trouble.

A breastfeeding mother who donates 52 litres of milk can help to feed approximately
2,000 babies. The shortage of milk donation becomes a big problem for those unfortunate
babies or mothers who, only through the Human Milk Banks (BLH) get access to such an
important nutritional resource. In many cases breastfeeding is contraindicated, for example,
when the mother has a pathology or the newborn prevents him from being breastfed directly.
The World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the Spanish Association of
Pediatrics (AEP) defend donated human milk as a resource of first choice for the maintenance
of breastfeeding, considering the BLH a very important public nurse of a country. However, it
comes to present the issue of the importance of donating milk, because it is forbidden to profit
from this resource, you can only reach it through donations. This presents a problem especially
in a country like Ecuador, who only has seven BLH in all of the territory. In 2016, according to
the Ministry of Public Health, 5,091 liters were collected, benefiting 7,932 children (Rodríguez
R, 2017). In the same year the WHO presented a report, which estimates that "3 out of 5
babies do not drink breast milk" (World Health Organization, 2018) in their first contact with
the world.
This issue becomes very important and hardly known worldwide, not only in
developing countries. In Latin America, Brazil leads with the largest number of BLH (200
centres), followed by Ecuador. Despite the importance of collecting human milk in BLH for the
survival of new-borns, dissemination on the subject is still very limited. The most feasible
solution to a social problem is to recognize its existence and know that affects everyone of
short or long term. Since it is a social problem, the best way to reach the population is through
state campaigns, surveys to understand if the only problem is the lack of information,
informative talks and even to go further and create an International Committee very similar to
the Red Cross, but aimed at breast milk. In fact, Ecuador and Brazil have already started a
bilateral project called Red de Bancos de Leche Humana (Network of Human Milk Banks),
which has already benefited more than 29,770 mothers and the number of donors was
127,193. (Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, 2018) However, a project has only
been underway for two years and is only a project between two countries. The success will be
if it becomes a worldwide network of BLH and the beneficiaries will be all the children of the
world.
Why is breast milk donation so important? The answer is simple; every child in the
world deserves and needs an adequate nutrition. Most people know someone who has a baby,
and a shortage of breast milk can become a problem for many mothers or for a father who
does not have this resource. This problem can affect everyone at any time and if we can help
prevent babies from developing diseases or dying, because we cannot access this resource you
should do so. We must start by teaching the population that this problem is real, making it a
priority to disseminate information about its importance and the benefits that babies would
have. It is not a recent problem; we have simply ignored it by creating supplements, but
without being aware that they do not possess the nutrients important for the proper
development of the baby. The children of the world need us and it is our duty to help them to
grow up healthy and strong.
Bibliography
Organización Mundial de la Salud. (2018). “La lactancia materna en la primera hora es esencial
para salvar la vida de los recién nacidos”. Abril 11, 2019, de Organización Mundial de la
Salud Sitio web: https://www.who.int/es/news-room/detail/31-07-2018-3-in-5-
babies-not-breastfed-in-the-first-hour-of-life
Rodríguez R. (2017). “Las alimentaciones de los bebés pueden hacerse directamente en estos
lugares”. La prioridad la tienen los niños prematuros. Abril 11, 2019, de expres.ec Sitio
web: https://www.expreso.ec/actualidad/bancodelechematerna-nutricioninfantil-
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Ministerios de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana. (2018). “57.000 bebés se benefician
de los bancos de leche materna del programa bilateral Ecuador y Brasil 2015-2017”.
Abril 11, 2019, de Ministerios de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana Sitio web:
https://www.cancilleria.gob.ec/57-000-bebes-se-benefician-de-los-bancos-de-leche-
materna-del-programa-bilateral-ecuador-y-brasil-2015-2017/