-- Prolacta Urges Increased Emphasis on Importance of Donor Human Milk --
MONROVIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Prolacta Bioscience (Prolacta) applauds the Surgeon General’s recent Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding report and urges added awareness and emphasis on the importance of donor human milk. Prolacta is the first and only company to offer human milk fortifier (HMF) made from 100% human milk for premature and critically ill infants weighing less than 1250 grams.
The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding report emphasizes the important roles and responsibilities of clinicians, employers, communities, researchers, and government leaders to support breastfeeding. It also outlines specific steps people can take to participate in a society-wide approach to support mothers and babies who are breastfeeding. The report indicates that this broad approach will increase the public health impact of everyone’s efforts, reduce inequities in the quality of health care that mothers and babies receive, and improve the support that families receive in employment and community settings.
“As a life science company focused on the use of human milk and human milk-based products in extremely premature infants weighing less than 1250 grams at birth, we are pleased that the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding brings attention to the importance of breastfeeding and human milk,” said Scott Elster, CEO of Prolacta. “We hope to see increased dialogue from the Surgeon General and federal government about the role of donor human milk and milk-based products in the NICU.”
The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding identifies an action and several strategies related to donor human milk. Many supporters and advocates of human milk believe that donor human milk is a topic that could use increased attention by the government. Donor human milk, in combination with human milk-based fortifiers, can be particularly important in the nutritional support of critically ill and premature infants in the hospital.
Use of donor milk is growing as more NICU practitioners learn of data demonstrating human milk-based products that are linked to positive health outcomes for infants in the NICU. A recent study published in the Journal of Pediatrics demonstrated that for very low-birth-weight preterm infants (those weighing less than 1250 grams) in the NICU, a completely human milk diet significantly decreased the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and surgeries related to NEC. NEC is a gastrointestinal inflammatory disease primarily affecting premature and very young infants and can cause complications that are sometimes life-threatening.
Another related topic that human milk advocates believe could use added attention by the government is standardization and oversight of donor human milk. Elster explains, “Today, there is a lack of federal standards specific to human milk-based products and there is limited regulation. Our company has been at the forefront of urging regulation and safety by voluntarily developing and adopting standards for human milk-based products, modeling those used in the blood and plasma industry. We hope to see the federal government take a leading role on this issue as well.” Additionally, it is widely believed that federal standards would ease the reimbursement challenges that currently exist.
About Prolacta
Prolacta Bioscience, Inc. (www.prolacta.com) is a life science company dedicated to improving quality of life by Advancing the Science of Human MilkTM. Prolacta creates specialty formulations made exclusively from human milk for the nutritional needs of critically ill premature infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units. It is the first and only company to provide a human milk fortifier made from 100% human milk, Prolact+ H2MFTM. They operate a pharmaceutical grade processing plant and have designed and patented processes that enable them to make their one-of-a-kind life saving products. Prolacta is committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of the most vulnerable infants through world-class research and innovative products.
CONTACT:
for Prolacta Bioscience, Inc.
Loren Kosmont, 310-721-9444
[email protected]
KEYWORDS: United States North America California
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Health Biotechnology Hospitals Public Policy/Government White House/Federal Government General Health
MEDIA: