ArticleMaternal & child nutrition2023
Understanding the current and future usage of donor human milk in hospitals: An online survey of UK neonatal units.
Article in Maternal & child nutrition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Explaining the experiences of donors, recipients, and healthcare providers regarding milk donation: a systematic review and meta-synthesis.International breastfeeding journal · 2025Pooled it
- Donor human milk for preventing necrotising enterocolitis in very preterm or very low-birthweight infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- A systematic review of contaminants in donor human milk.Maternal & child nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- Potential Donors' Awareness and Perceived Feasibility of Donating Human Milk in Australia.Maternal & child nutrition · 2026Article
- Current and future use of donor human milk in hospitals: data from polish human milk banks.International breastfeeding journal · 2026Article
- Human milk donation in Australia: a qualitative study of donors and potential donors.International breastfeeding journal · 2025Article
- Cost of operating a human milk bank in the UK: a microcosting analysis.Archives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition · 2025Article
- Understanding modifiable barriers to human milk donation in the United Kingdom.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025Article
- Receiving screened donor human milk as part of a community-based lactation support programme reduces parental symptoms of anxiety and depression.Maternal & child nutrition · 2024Article
- Disparities in being able to donate human milk impacts upon maternal wellbeing: Lessons for scaling up milk bank service provision.Maternal & child nutrition · 2024Article
- Unlocking the Potential: A Systematic Literature Review on the Impact of Donor Human Milk on Infant Health Outcomes.Cureus · 2024Review
- Understanding the current and future usage of donor human milk in hospitals: An online survey of UK neonatal units.Maternal & child nutrition · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The use of donor human milk (DHM) where there is a shortfall of maternal milk can benefit both infant and maternal outcomes but DHM supply is not always assured. This study aimed to understand current DHM usage in UK neonatal units and potential future demand to inform service planning. An online survey was disseminated to all UK neonatal units using Smart Survey or by telephone between February and April 2022 after development alongside neonatal unit teams. Surveys were completed by 55.4% of units (108/195) from all 13 Operational Delivery Networks. Only four units reported not using DHM, and another two units only if infants are transferred on DHM feeds. There was marked diversity in DHM implementation and usage and unit protocols varied greatly. Five of six units with their own milk bank had needed to source milk from an external milk bank in the last year. Ninety units (84.9%) considered DHM was sometimes (n = 35) or always (n = 55) supportive of maternal breastfeeding, and three units (2.9%) responded that DHM was rarely supportive of breastfeeding. Usage was predicted to increase by 37 units (34.9%), and this drive was principally a result of parental preference, clinical trials and improved evidence. These findings support the assumption that UK hospital DHM demand will increase after updated recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the British Association of Perinatal Medicine. These data will assist service delivery planning, underpinned by an ongoing programme of implementation science and training development, to ensure future equity of access to DHM nationally.
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Registered trials
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