Powdered Breast Milk: Coming Soon

Breast milk is a natural product that is believed to be one of the most important substances for human life.  Breast milk offers the best natural blend of nutrients. Nutrients that a baby needs in the first months of their life. Sometimes, however, it is impossible to breastfeed. In these cases, powdered breast milk is now an option.

Breast milk is highly valued for the health benefits it provides. This extends well into adulthood. According to the WHO, breastfeeding reduces infant mortality and protects against diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia and asthma. Likewise, by breastfeeding, especially in the first months,  we give our baby all the energy they need to grow big and healthy. 

However,  many mothers cannot breastfeed their babies,  or not as much as they would like. Some suffer from nutritional problems or other diseases that make it difficult to breastfeed.

In these situations, breastfeeding is not possible for the mother or baby. This leads to an important question: How can we ensure that the newborns get all the nutrition they need without harming their digestive system?

With this in mind, breast milk banks have been created. Here, women who can produce more milk than they need can make donations. However  , studies have shown that the process of pasteurization can destroy some of the important proteins and fats in milk. These nutrients as we know are critical to the baby’s diet and should not be exposed to high temperatures which will degrade them.

Powdered breast milk – incredible!

Thanks to technological advances, a group of researchers at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico has made a breakthrough. With the help of the city’s civilian hospital, they have managed to  develop a surprisingly new type of food for babies. Powdered breast milk. This procedure is very promising for storage and answering of this valuable product.

The experts extracted excess water from human breast milk, by exposing it to very high temperatures. This way they could  dehydrate the milk. This converts it to a powder and avoids the pasteurization process. There is also no need to store this in the freezer, which can break down the milk.

According to a statement, the conversion process consists of evaporating liquid at high temperatures until all the moisture is gone. This method is called aspersion and consists of separating a liquid into very fine droplets. In this case, the droplets evaporate and become dehydrated to powder.

The powder is stored drop by drop. This technique preserves almost all the nutrients in the milk and loses only 10% of the nutritional value. That is, this powdered breast milk is almost as fresh as regular breast milk.

Powdered breast milk can save lives

One of the effects of this breakthrough is that breast milk can now be stored and transported to isolated populations. The product  can be stored for up to 6 months without compromising quality. This innovation has brought lots of benefits to thousands of children in need.

As we know, breast milk banks have an important social role. However, problems with storing the milk make it difficult to transport it safely.

Powdered breast milk, on the other hand, offers many benefits in these situations. The milk is safe to transport under several conditions. This means that it can be distributed to more isolated areas. 

The next challenge is to  create the first powdered breast milk bank. This will benefit a large number of children. It will especially help families in areas that are far from hospitals and major cities. The first powdered breast milk bank is planned in Mexico, but there will soon be other cities around the world.

According to the researchers involved,  the powdered breast milk bank is currently applying for patents. Once this is done, others will be able to get the technology. This innovation will feed many children with nutritional problems, both inside and out of hospitals.