Mothers' Milk Bank
At Sharp, in collaboration with the Mothers’ Milk Bank, we are grateful and privileged to provide nourishing breast milk to premature infants and others with specialized health needs.
How it works
At Sharp Chula Vista Center for Women & Newborns and Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns, all of our breastmilk comes from carefully screened, healthy mothers who generously donate their extra supply. We provide a collection station for these mothers and ship the frozen donations to the Mothers’ Milk Bank for pasteurization. Sharp then purchases pasteurized milk, which is shipped to us for distribution to babies in need.
At Sharp Grossmont Hospital for Women & Newborns, we also receive donated, pasteurized breastmilk that is carefully screened from the Mothers’ Milk Bank for babies in need, but we are unable to collect donated milk.
How it helps
Breastmilk benefits premature babies like no other food because human milk empties from the stomach faster, causes the intestines to mature faster and decreases infant health issues — leading to less time spent in the hospital.
Human breastmilk has helped even the most vulnerable of patients who struggle with health issues such as gastrointestinal problems, immune deficiencies, failure to thrive (FTT), malabsorption syndromes and more.
Find out more
If you have questions about the breastmilk donor program at Sharp Mary Birch, please call our New Beginnings Boutique at 858-939-4127 or our lactation office at 858-939-4140.
If you have questions about the use of donor breastmilk at Sharp Chula Vista, please call our lactation office at 619-502-5848.
If you have questions about the use of donor breastmilk at Sharp Grossmont Hospital, please call our lactation office at 619-740-4983.