Letter to the editor: Donor milk legislation can help protect sick babies

When my baby Owen was born prematurely, I didn’t know about human donor milk or that it could have helped him before I was able to provide my own milk. When Owen passed away from necrotizing enterocolitis, a complication that research shows donor milk could protect against, I was devastated. After learning about the donation process, I was glad the milk I pumped for Owen could help other babies. I was also disappointed that the option of donor milk wasn’t offered to us when he needed it; I will forever wonder if he would still be here if it was.

It is widely accepted that all babies benefit from human milk. But for medically vulnerable infants, it can be lifesaving. When a mother’s own milk isn’t available, the next best option is pasteurized milk from carefully screened donors.

As insurance companies don’t often cover medically prescribed donor milk, hundreds of families are left scrambling to save their babies. Together, we can change that.

There are currently two pieces of Pennsylvania legislation designed to help vulnerable babies like Owen. Owen’s Law and the Protect Sick Babies Act would increase access to pasteurized donor human milk by expanding public and private insurance coverage and reimbursement for medically necessary donor milk. The passage of these bills would reduce health care costs and save the lives of the most fragile Pennsylvanians: medically compromised babies.

Visit ProtectSick Babies.com to learn more and sign the petition to urge legislators to expand access to donor milk.

Annette Kubalek

Indiana, Pa.

The writer is a nurse practitioner.