Metro East Sun

In October 2023, HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Women and Infants Center collaborated with Mothers’ Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes to establish St. Clair County's only milk dispensary. This facility allows families to purchase safe, pasteurized breast milk. Now, St. Elizabeth’s Milk Bank is also accepting milk donations as the county's sole breast milk depot.

Donations from Mothers’ Milk Banks WGL are supplied to hospitals in Wisconsin and Illinois that require additional milk. This partnership aims to enhance access to vital nutrition for pediatric patients who need it most. The donated milk is primarily used in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) or postpartum units.

“Breast milk is an essential nutritional therapy that provides numerous benefits, including infection-fighting factors, growth hormones and improved nutrition and digestion to newborns,” said Jennifer Swank, RN, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant at St. Elizabeth’s Women and Infants Center. “We are grateful that we are able to not only provide milk for the members of our community but also be a resource for donations to continue to help families and other hospitals in the Western Great Lakes area who are in need of additional milk.”

St. Elizabeth’s Milk Bank is open for public use where families can donate or purchase milk for short-term emergency needs. They work with Mothers’ Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes to maintain the safety of pasteurized breast milk through established screening, processing, and dispensing guidelines by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America.

For further details on donating or purchasing milk, more information can be found online.