Reported Perceived versus Actual Barriers to Breast Milk Donation to Milk Banks

Background: Milk banks (MB), which are the primary source of donor breast milk for premature infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) nationwide, help save lives every day. Unfortunately, low donation rates mean that milk banks are often unable to keep up with high demand. Despite this issue, few studies have examined the potential barriers that are limiting breast milk donations to milk banks. Purpose: To study perceived and reported difficulties of women with a self-reported oversupply of breast milk regarding donating breast milk. Methods: An anonymous survey was posted on Facebook and shared a total of 330 …