Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
Jasper mettra Pharmacy is now distributing donor breast milk for infants whose mothers are unable to breastfeed.
Tasha Porttin, owner and pharmacy manager, said there was previously no way for a baby in the region to receive milk from a certified donor milk bank.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to essentially fill that gap so that mother鈥檚 or families can access the donor human milk without having to go to the city or something like that,鈥� Porttin said.
After becoming a mom in April 2020, Porttin became aware of this gap and had to use formula initially with her baby.
鈥淚t became quite known to me, as a new mom, there were lots of parents in the area who were looking for donor milk or how could they have access to donor human milk, and there was no way to do that,鈥� she said.
鈥淲hen I decided to go ahead and open the pharmacy, I thought, you know what, this is one of the things I鈥檓 really going to pursue and find out how we can get a safe community-based milk bank accessed through the pharmacy.鈥�
Porttin said there are many reasons why donor milk may be needed, with her case being her baby wasn鈥檛 able to start breastfeeding right away because of health issues.
A common scenario is a baby being born but the mother鈥檚 milk is delayed so she needs to supplement with formula.
Compared to formula, natural breast milk has many advantages, such as having more protein and being fuller with immunoglobulins and protection for newborn babies.
鈥淚t was disappointing to me that I had to give formula, because I was really hoping to breastfeed right from the get-go,鈥� Porttin said.
鈥淗aving access to donor milk in a scenario like that would have definitely eased my kind of concerns and anxieties around what my baby was eating right after he was born.鈥�
The pharmacy is now a distributor for Northern Star Milk Bank out of Calgary and is the only community-based milk bank in Canada.
The milk is donated across the Prairies with 11 milk drop locations in three provinces, and it is frozen and shipped to Calgary where pasteurization occurs.
Northern Star then ships the milk to Jasper for the pharmacy to keep in a frozen state until the family buys it and later thaws it at home.
A cost is associated in order to cover shipping and pasteurization.
Families can access up to 10 bottles without a prescription.
Anyone who requires more can have a prescription written up in the pharmacy without having to go through a physician or public health.
Families interested in accessing the milk bank can visit Jasper mettra Pharmacy in-person or contact them at 780-820-1091 or [email protected]
