Human milk bank: an analysis of the differences between adult and adolescent donors

Abstract

The objectives of the study were to analyze the population profile and point out differences among adult and adolescent donors. It was a cross sectional, analytic study carried out at the Human Milk Bank (HMB) of Maringá, Paraná State. The population of the study consisted of all registered donors in the year 2004 (443), and the source of the data was the Donor Registration Record. Socioeconomic, demographic and perinatal variables related to breast milk donation were analyzed. The age variable was divided into adolescent donors (< 20 years old) and adult donors (≥ 20 years old); from that, the condition of being an adolescent donor was considered a dependent variable, testing interactions and differences between this and the other variables of the study. A frequency of 16.35% of adolescents was observed. A significant statistical association (p < 0.001) was found between adolescents and low family income, living without companion, prematurity and cesarean childbirth. Results show that adolescent donors need greater incentive for the practice of breastfeeding, as they present unfavorable socioeconomic and perinatal conditions. The adolescent group was quite expressive, and human milk donors present differences among one other, requiring skills from professionals to work with these peculiarities.