Groundbreaking Milk Analyzer at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital Saves At-Risk Infants’ Lives

A comprehensive, one-of-a kind donor-milk program at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) and the children’s hospital for the Hudson Valley and Fairfield County, CT, is leading the way to ensure that premature infants receive the lifesaving benefits of human milk, even if a mother isn’t able to supply it to her baby herself.

The hospital’s capabilities to care for the region’s tiniest infants has been strengthened by the recent addition of a milk analyzer that evaluates, then optimizes donor milk to the exact nutritional needs of premature infants. Later this year, the donor milk program will add a milk pasteurizer and create a physical space for the state-of-the-art program. Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital’s Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (RNICU) cares for approximately 700 neonatal patients annually, and about 150 of them are born at less than three pounds. Since its inception in 2015, the program has provided donor milk to more than 200 highly sensitive babies whose lives are dependent upon the nutritional benefits of human milk. For more on the donor-milk program, please see page 16.