'Your baby can take my milk… but my baby won't take yours'; determinants of willingness to donate and utilize human breast milk among pregnant women at a health facility in limited resource settings.

backgroundDonor human milk is vital for newborn nutrition and development. The World Health Organization advocates donor human milk when maternal milk is unavailable. In alignment with this global recommendation, Kenya has established a donor human milk bank to support vulnerable infants and improve neonatal health outcomes. However, the willingness of mothers to use or donate human milk, as well as their related practices and attitudes, remains an area that requires further exploration.

objectiveThis study explored the willingness of pregnant women at Pumwani Maternity Hospital to donate and use human breast milk.

methodsThis qualitative study sought to establish participants’ views on their willingness to donate and use human breast milk was conducted in August 2023. Eligible participants were pregnant women attending Kenya’s largest public maternity hospital. Three focus group discussions were held and tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using thematic data analysis with results reported verbatim.

resultsMost participants were aged 21–39 years, were married and had either secondary or tertiary education. Awareness of donor human milk and milk banking was low; over half had never heard of milk donation or seen a child fed with donated milk. However, most of the participants indicated that they were open to donating their own breast milk to the milk bank, perceiving it as a noble cause, particularly if they had surplus supply and were medically eligible. Majority were however less inclined to allowing their babies to use donated human milk unless it were unavoidable or extremely necessary. Concerns included fear of disease transmission, mistrust and cultural discomfort. Acceptance was more likely if advised by a healthcare provider or in severe maternal illness or insufficient milk supply.

conclusionThe mothers’ awareness of human breast milk donation and banking was suboptimal and most exhibited reservations about allowing their babies to be fed with donated human milk despite their expressed willingness to donate their breast milk. This highlights the crucial need for targeted education campaigns to address concerns and promote the acceptance of donated human milk among the pregnant women.