What is the history of human milk banking in the United States?

In 1911, Dr. Francis Denny of Boston’s Floating Hospital for Children created a milk bank to combat the “summer sickness” that so many babies of the time succumbed to. Summer sickness, or diarrheal disease, was a major cause of infant mortality caused by contaminated water and animal milk.

Dr. Denny’s milk bank provided infants with donor human milk in the absence of their own mother’s milk.⁶ Several milk banks developed around the country in the years that followed. In 1985, the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) was established to provide evidence-based guidelines and standards for the industry.

Today, there are 9 operating HMBANA milk banks in the United States. These milk banks operate for the same reason they did 100 years ago, to improve infant outcomes and save lives.