When baby Luresa was born last month at Chilliwack General Hospital (CGH), her mother's milk was slow to come in, and she would have had to go without the health benefits of mother's milk if it wasn't for a new Fraser Health pilot project.

Thanks to the new Donor Breast Milk Dispensary, the hospital was able to provide Luresa with safe, nourishing milk six times during her critical first few days of life.

CGH is the first site in Fraser Health to offer nutrient-rich mother's milk to babies through the Donor Breast Milk Dispensary, a three-month pilot project that will run until August.

The donated milk, screened and pasteurized by the Milk Bank at B.C. Women's Hospital in Vancouver, is available with a doctor's referral as an alternative to formula, which lacks some of the benefits of breast milk

The milk is shipped frozen from Vancouver to the CGH maternity unit and kept frozen until it is needed by a newborn.

CGH was keen to run the pilot program, part of Fraser Health's Baby Friendly initiative, because of strong local support for the option of mother's milk--a safe, nutritional food for young infants.

Once the project is complete in August, health officials will review the data to see if the service could be made available at other Fraser Health sites. Through the Donor Breast Milk Dispensary pilot, the health authority aims to increase the use of donor milk, decrease the use of formula supplements and increase milk donations from the community.

Mothers who would like to know more about donating milk to B.C. Women's Hospital's Milk Bank--the only milk bank in Canada--can call the Chilliwack Health Unit at 604-702-4920.