how does one get breastmilk prescribed?

[lolar2]

My friends have a baby with cancer and he has been weaned for a while. If they want him to have some breastmilk from a bank, how would they go about getting it prescribed and covered by insurance? Would it go through the hospital where he gets his chemo? His ped? His oncologist? I don't know if this is something they want to do, but I want to have the information in case they want it.

[CathMac]

Would Mom be willing to consider re-lactating?

I have no idea, but I would hope that a baby with cancer would qualify. However, it might be more cost effective if Mom was willing to relactate.

There are several recent threads on relactation but if you can't find them PM me and I'll get back to you with the links.

The success of relactation depends on the age of the baby and the length of time since weaning. Even if baby doesn't get the hang of relearning the nursing skills, Mom may be able to pump.

Good luck to your friend and her baby.
~Cath

[RootSnort]

If he's in the hospital, I think all the doc has to do is order breastmilk as diet.

[mclisa]

I'm not sure that the doc would order it. If he has a low immunity they might not want to expose him to any potential infections from someone else's stored breast milk.

[CathMac]

Breastmilk by prescription - screened and pasteurized

Originally Posted by mclisa

I'm not sure that the doc would order it. If he has a low immunity they might not want to expose him to any potential infections from someone else's stored breast milk.

mclisa,
I'm pretty sure any breastmilk by prescription would be from a Milk Bank and therefore screened and pasteurized.

"Direct", unpasteurized Donor Milk is a bit of a gamble for any baby, not just Preemies, or cancer patients. Anyone seeking Donor Milk directly is well advised to follow the "MilkShare" screening and blood test guidelines even if they find their donor elsewhere.
~Cath

[lolar2]

Thanks for the info! If they seem interested I will pass it along.