The Health Department of the Federal District (SES-DF) received, this Wednesday (24), the “Highlight in Milk Bank Management 2023” certificate for the results achieved. The delivery was made during the 1st National Workshop of the Fiocruz Human Milk Bank Certification Program (PCFioBLH/Fiocruz) and the National Meeting of SUS-2024 Human Milk Bank Reference Centers, in Rio de Janeiro.
The coordinator of SES-DF Breastfeeding Policies, Mariane Curado Borges, said that the Brazilian Network of Milk Banks launched the program last year, with the aim of strengthening the quality assurance of the Global Network of Human Milk Banks as strategic action to reduce preventable deaths of newborns and infants, as well as to prevent the occurrence of chronic non-communicable diseases.
In December, DF milk banks were the first in Brazil to go through the certification audit process. The auditors visited the DF’s 14 milk banks, including private ones, for a week. The coordinator highlighted the quality of the service provided to mothers and newborns.
“The network of human milk banks in the Federal District is a reference for Brazil and the world. We are the only place where there is self-sufficiency of human milk for babies admitted to neonatal units. In Rio, we will receive both the result of this audit process and the management award”, he celebrated.
The work of the Human Milk Bank was essential for the breastfeeding process of little Kalel, now 40 days old. He was born at the Hospital Regional de Sobradinho, in the 34th week of pregnancy, weighing 1,690 kg. The mother, nanny Laila Priscilla de Oliveira Corte, 32 years old, resident of Riacho Fundo, talks about her concerns about premature birth. “My son had to stay in the ICU, intubated. Since he was born, he has been eating thanks to the bank. This assistance is very necessary and essential. Every drop is worth gold, every drop of this milk is life. I had difficulty with milk production and withdrawal. Not being able to extract food for my son is very painful and this service brings us relief to say ‘my son is not starving, he can eat’”.
Housewife Stefane Pereira da Silva, 27 years old, resident of Samambaia Sul also benefited from the Milk Bank. Daughter Eloah, now almost two months old, was born at the Taguatinga Regional Hospital at 29 weeks and weighing 1,475 g. Today, after receiving the nutrient and learning to breastfeed, she has gained weight and weighs 1,710 g.
“She received food from the bank until I was able to express my own milk. I was well guided from the moment the doctor released my daughter to the mother’s breast. Today, she is breastfeeding well and occasionally receiving supplementation with pasteurized human milk. It is very important support”, she reiterated.
Food for more than 15 thousand babies
The technical reference (RTD) in Human Milk Banks in the DF, Maria das Graças Cruz Rodrigues, reinforced the importance of the event both for the DF and for each of the teams of Human Milk Banks and Human Milk Collection Stations. “We are happy and grateful for the results of our efforts. It is the beginning of a new era and we are part of it. Through this workshop we once again see our eyes focused on new achievements. Brasília continues to be an example of a consolidated network, and seeks to maintain its self-sufficiency in human milk for newborns in the Neonatal ICU, following all the principles that guarantee access and quality of human milk, pillars of food and nutritional security for newborns and infants”, he reinforced.
Public actions and policies have driven the DF to become the region closest to becoming self-sufficient in breast milk storage. According to data from the network in 2023, 22,253 liters of breast milk were collected, benefiting 15,560 babies admitted to hospitals. In the first three months of 2024, the network collected 4,707 liters, meeting the demand of 3,942 babies. Also according to the latest report from the Brazilian Milk Bank Network, the DF network is considered the best equipped in the country.
Among those present at the workshop will be representatives of the National Institute of Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health Fernandes Figueira, Fiocruz, the Primary Health Care Secretariat of the Ministry of Health, the state and municipal health departments of Rio de Janeiro , the Brazilian Cooperation Agency, the Pan American Health Organization Brazil, the Latin American Center for Perinatology–PAHO and the Brazilian Network of Human Milk Banks.
On the 25th, at the meeting, there will also be a forum with the theme “Network Work – Responsibility Matrix”, which will address the role of state coordination and Health Departments (state and municipal) in the management of rBLH.
The information is from Agência Brasília
