Mothers are being asked to donate their breast milk for babies so premature that their own mums are unable to feed them.

The appeal has gone out from the Oliver Fisher special baby care unit at Medway hospital, which has 36 cots and treats up to 1,000 children a year.

Breast milk helps to protect babies in many different ways and is seen as a vital part of their medication and treatment plan.

Due to the extreme prematurity of the babies on the unit some mothers cannot produce enough breast milk to feed their children so the milk bank provides a vital role on the neonatal unit.

The number of babies on the unit that need donated breast milk is continuing to increase. The unit previously relied on word of mouth for volunteers to come forward.

The unit is one of 17 donor milk banks in the UK and is the only one in the area.

Maureen Mallard, a nurse on the unit, said: “Having a baby admitted to a neonatal unit is an extremely stressful time for all concerned.

“With the number of sick and vulnerable pre-term babies being admitted to the unit increasing year on year, the demand for donor breast milk continues to rise.”

The unit, celebrating its 30th anniversary, has to pick the milk up themselves or rely on mums being able to drop the milk into the unit, so is only able to recruit donors from Medway, Swale and Thanet.

All donors need to go to the unit to complete the paperwork and have a routine blood test.

What do you think of the scheme? For more information or to donate call 01634 825125.