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Project Description: Maternal and Child Health Support
The project will address the need for information that pregnant women and postpartum mothers (puérperas) require regarding the challenges of motherhood and breastfeeding. The goal is to spark interest among breastfeeding mothers to donate breast milk, which will be sent to the milk bank for pasteurization and distribution to infants admitted to the Neonatal ICU at the Santa Casa de Campo Mourão Hospital.
Currently, infants in rooming-in care and the NICU/Intermediate Care Unit (UCI) who are prescribed supplementation receive industrial formula. By increasing the supply of pasteurized milk, these babies would benefit from breast milk until their discharge. During vacation periods, festivities, holidays, and winter months, there is a drop in donations, making industrial formula necessary even in the Neonatal ICU. Since most of these babies are premature, they often present formula intoleranceâ₀"experiencing vomiting, gastrointestinal discomfort, abdominal distension, diarrhea, and even gastroenteritisâ₀"symptoms that rarely occur when infants are fed pasteurized breast milk.
Objectives
Capacity Building: Provide training for healthcare teams to welcome pregnant and postpartum women and provide high-quality information, encouraging breastfeeding and potential milk donation.
Guidance and Education: Promote awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and child. Human milk can reduce preventable deaths in children under five by up to 13%, as its composition meets all human needs at this life stage.
Donor Identification: Identify mothers with surplus milk production and emphasize the vital impact of donation.
Health Promotion: Promote womenâ₀™s and childrenâ₀™s health through breastfeeding support and donor mobilization.
Family Support: Assist mothers and their families during the delicate breastfeeding phase, from pregnancy to the return to work, including special cases such as low-birth-weight infants, prematurity, and adoption.
Beneficiaries
Healthcare Teams: Will gain specialized knowledge through training.
Pregnant/Postpartum Women and Families: Will receive specialized care and guidance.
Children: Will grow healthier through effective breastfeeding.
Hospitalized Newborns: Infants in the Neonatal ICU/UCI will receive donated breast milk.
Municipalities: Will reduce costs associated with providing industrial formula to low-income families.
Grant Allocation and Infrastructure
The grant will fund the implementation of Collection Points in 12 municipalities (Campo Mourão, Goioerê, Roncador, Araruna, Peabiru, Campina da Lagoa, Terra Boa, Fênix, Iretama, Juranda, Ubiratã, and Engenheiro Beltrão).
Equipment and resources include:
Electric and manual breast pumps for extraction.
Thermal boxes (coolers) and reusable ice packs (gelox) for transport.
Glass containers and lids for storage.
Thermometers for temperature control.
Upright freezers for storage.
Processing equipment for the reference Milk Bank to handle increased pasteurization demand.
Comprehensive training and qualification for all personnel involved.
The role of the Rotarians will be to oversee the development of the project.
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