FAQs

Why is breast milk so important?

For premature babies, breast milk is not only the best: It’s essential. This is because the baby’s intestines are often not yet fully functioning. Ready-made food derived from animal milk puts a strain on the intestines and on the child as a whole. It may also trigger allergic reactions. Human breast milk helps to prevent serious illnesses as well as a possible operation that may rob the premature baby of its strength.

What are fortifiers?

Premature babies who would normally still be fed via the umbilical cord need a different nutrient composition than breast milk, as this is intended for 9-month-old – and thus mature – babies. Breast milk or donor milk must therefore be fortified with specific nutrients.

Should I donate my breast milk?

Premature babies are often too weak to drink and of course in the womb they haven’t had a chance to learn to swallow. For this reason they are usually fed with a tube. However, the mothers rarely reach the amount a premature baby needs just through pumping. And the mother’s milk doesn’t cover the nutritional needs of a premature baby. This is why the milk needs to be enriched with fortifiers.

Where does AMMEVA get the breast milk from?

AMMEVA collects women’s milk throughout Germany, exclusively from donors who are fully breastfeeding their own child and have enough milk left for a donation. When the donor stops breastfeeding her own child, the donation period for AMMEVA also ends.

Why human milk fortifier?

All fortifiers are misleadingly labelled as human milk fortifiers, even though they are produced using bovine milk, mostly cow’s milk, as a basis. But premature babies in particular often react allergically to proteins of other species – with serious consequences. AMMEVA human milk fortifiers are made exclusively from human breast milk. AMMEVA is the only manufacturer of purely human fortifiers in the EU.

Why does AMMEVA provide the fortifier in powder form?

The stomach and intestines of a premature baby are still very small and can only absorb small amounts of food. Due to the powder form of AMMEVA fortifiers, breast milk can be fortified without any significant volume load for the child. The powder has a very long shelf life and is easy to use.

How is fortifier created?

The processing technology was developed and patented by AMMEVA itself. In contrast to pasteurisation (30 minutes at 63°C), which is still common practice, it corresponds to a state-of-the-art milk processing procedure.

The processing is based on a special freeze-drying process, which is preceded by various steps such as separation processes, microfiltrations in several stages and specific heat treatments to eliminate pathogenic germs and other harmful substances.

Freeze-drying in combination with microfiltration processes is particularly suitable because important ingredients such as immunoglobulins are preserved. In addition, freeze-drying gives the powder a long shelf life and makes it easy to process.

Which criteria are important to consider in order to become a breast milk donor for AMMEVA?

In principle, all healthy mothers who have a clear milk surplus are eligible for milk donation. Our top priority is always to ensure that your own child is well provided for when fully breastfed. In addition, you need a freezing capacity (at min.-18 °C) for 40-50 flat milk bags, which you would then freeze in compliance with our hygiene rules and store until collection, which we carry out all across Germany. Please contact our donor service by e-mail or telephone. We will then discuss the further donation requirements together and clarify important points regarding nutrition and medication. In this way, together we can protect the health and best development of both you and the recipient child.

How can I donate my breast milk?

As a donor, you register with the AMMEVA donor service.
Our donor service takes all donors by the hand, so to speak, and accompanies and advises them in all questions that need to be clarified in connection with the donation.

If discussions and subsequent examinations are positive, a number of agreements are made between the donor and AMMEVA GmbH, naturally taking into account comprehensive data protection. We will advise you personally and extensively.

The donated milk is collected from the donor by AMMEVA via a professional frozen transport system and temporarily stored at AMMEVA. Quality tests are then carried out by certified laboratories. If there are the appropriate quality characteristics, the donated milk is then approved for processing and treated at AMMEVA’s production facility in Werder an der Havel. The quality tests comply with the strict guidelines of HMBANA (Human Milk Banking Association of North America).