I want to save my life with breast milk Will politics move May 19 21:06

Do you know the "Breastfeeding Bank"?
Because the baby is born underweight due to premature birth, it is a system that collects and provides breast milk from a donor instead of a mother who does not have breast milk.
I was working on a doctor and his wife. The activities that started from 4 tatami mats finally moved politics.
(Politics Department, Taishi Shimizu)

Only 500 grams baby

On February 25, a boy was born at a hospital in Tokyo.
Born at 26 weeks of gestation due to imminent preterm birth, weighs just over 500 grams.

The baby took her breast milk for the first time 12 hours after she was born.
It was not provided by the mother, but was provided by the donor through a "breast milk bank."

Why you need "breast milk"

A baby born less than 1500 grams due to premature birth is called an "extremely low birth weight infant", and is said to be prone to the illness called death-induced enteritis, which kills the intestinal tract.

Although fatal enteritis has a direct risk of death, studies in various countries have shown that feeding breast milk instead of powdered milk immediately after birth makes it less susceptible. This is because substances contained in breast milk mature the intestinal mucosa and enhance immunity. However, there are many cases where the mother immediately after childbirth does not feel well, and it is difficult for her to produce breast milk. This is especially true for mothers whose childbirth was accelerated for some reason.

There has been a long-standing practice in Japan of "feeding" breastfeeding from another mother immediately after childbirth, but in recent years, the risk of infectious diseases has been pointed out, and it is gradually disappearing.

As a result, there are cases where low-weight babies cannot get breast milk and get sick.

Currently, about 7,000 children are born in Japan less than 1500 grams per year. Experts estimate that about 3000 of these require donor breast milk.

Breast milk needed.
A few years ago, it became clear that breast milk was bought and sold on the Internet.

Although the Consumer Affairs Agency called for caution, it became clear once again that there are mothers who seek breastfeeding for other people despite the high risk of infectious diseases as the amount of breastfeeding decreases. ..

The Breast Milk Bank responds to this.
The amount of breast milk needed to avoid the risk of fatal enteritis is actually not very high.
The "Breast milk bank" is a mechanism to fill the so-called bridging period until the mother's physical condition recovers and the milk comes out, and the time to switch to powdered milk.

Excess breast milk is provided by the mother who has the baby, and after being sterilized, it is delivered to the baby who needs it.

A sense of crisis in the increasing number of "dead enteritis"

Professor Katsumi Mizuno of Showa University Hospital operates the only breast milk bank in Japan.

Fifteen years ago, when I was studying abroad in Australia, I witnessed the efforts of the “Breastfeeding Bank” to promote research, and in 2013, opened the “Breastfeeding Bank”.

After that, in order to expand activities, in 2017, we established the Japan Breast Milk Bank Association.

Professor Mizuno said he felt a strong sense of crisis that Japan was behind in developing breastfeeding banks, compared to other countries, while the amount of breastfeeding was decreasing.

"At a hospital at a prefectural university, when I was using breastfeeding, only one person in a few years had a fatal enterocolitis. When they couldn't use it, three or four people had fatal enteritis each year, and about half of them died.Because there is no "breast milk bank", we have to give infants born with less than 1500 grams milk powder. There were cases where I could not get it. ''

Activity in one tatami mat

However, even if you call it a “bank,” the reality is exactly the cottage industry.
The only activity base is a room of about 4 tatami mats in Showa University Koto Toyosu Hospital. The members are Professor Mizuno and his wife, Noriko, who is also a midwife.
While people, goods and money are all lacking, he has continued his activities by participating in lectures and donating.

In the room, breast milk sent from donors in various places in response to lectures and requests via the Internet is stored frozen, and after undergoing pasteurization and inspection of infectious diseases, hospitals nationwide were requested. It is sent free of charge.
Last year, we delivered more than 100 babies' breast milk to donors, but due to labor shortages and the limited amount of breast milk that can be frozen, they are not keeping up with the increasing demand.

Last year, Professor Mizuno rented a larger room in Chiba prefecture for 80,000 yen a month to expand the facility, but when he visited after heavy rain, insects were struck through the piping and he could not store breast milk. ..
While working as a pediatrician, he continued to call for support to the "Breast Milk Bank" through lectures and self-published publications, but he could not find an opportunity to create a stable supply system.

Professor Mizuno says that national power is indispensable for creating a stable supply system.

"It's extremely tough to say that I have a baby that I need, but I can't handle it because the bank is too small, and I'm said to have died. It's a system that anyone can provide for breastfeeding for free. From a global perspective, there are many cases where the national and public institutions are involved in banks, and even in Japan, it is necessary for the government to have the power to create a unified foundation. Don't let your baby die because you couldn't use it, even if you have a donor to help. ''

If you "directly appeal" to the Minister ...

Under such circumstances, Professor Mizuno found out that Tsubasa Nemoto, then Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare, was interested in the efforts of the “Breast Milk Bank”. Last summer, an acquaintance introduced me to the minister's office.

Former Minister Nemoto looks back on the situation at the time as follows.

"I was introduced to a minister's office by being introduced by a friend I knew that there was a person who wanted me to hear about it. When I heard the story, it was scientifically supported and the donor's breast milk was also properly collected. Professor Mizuno wrote articles, but I felt that the efforts had not received much attention as a policy theme. ”In

fact, Professor Mizuno's efforts in the“ Breastfeeding Bank ”were in the past. It has been the subject of research by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and has received support in some cases. However, the support was limited to research.
“Although we knew the need, we were observing the voluntary efforts of Professor Mizuno and others,” said one MHLW official.

In the minister's office, Professor Mizuno talked about his own experience.
Priority was given to the treatment of the mother who had cervical cancer found at 24 weeks of gestation, and the baby was removed by Caesarean section.However, when the mother died and the donor's breast milk was absent, the baby also suffered from fatal enteritis and was severely injured. There was something left. It is said that he conveyed the feelings of regret and the words of his left father to Minister Nemoto.

Mr. Nemoto said, "When I heard the story, I thought that a" breast milk bank "was necessary, and I felt that it was necessary not only to make efforts by Professor Mizuno, but to be able to deal with it nationwide." Started. ”

However, in September 2019, just after the visit.

What Mizuno saw was news of the cabinet reshuffle.
Professor Mizuno thought that he would not be able to borrow the power of the country because Minister Nemoto would change. It is said that they decided to run a "breast milk bank" on their own.

However, in December last year, former Minister Nemoto contacted me to hear again.

A study session was held with interested Diet members. A person in charge of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare was also called at the venue.

Professor Mizuno appealed for the necessary support to the breastfeeding bank, and the study group participants listened intently. Participants of the study session visited a breast milk bank this January, and deepened their feelings that the national support was needed.

Professor Mizuno said he had previously reported the research results to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, but did not lead to the institutionalization and support of banks. He was surprised that the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare began to consider the system design and that the efforts continued even after resigning from the minister as a result of the interest of the Minister.

In fact, former minister Nemoto heard from an acquaintance that "Professor Mizuno was disappointed in the cabinet remodeling" and continued to coordinate with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare even after retiring.

And the House of Representatives Budget Committee on February 12.

A person in charge of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare clarified that the LDP lawmakers will provide financial support for three years starting from 2020, despite the need for a “breast milk bank”.
If all goes well, it is expected to lead to nationwide expansion by 2023.

Issues that are decided by public support

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare says that it will spend about 8 to 10 million yen annually to support verification of the effects of the "Breast Milk Bank" and operation of facilities.

Professor Mizuno is considering building a new base to meet the demand from all over the country. On the other hand, we don't just want to increase the number of locations and the number of services provided. If there is a problem with the breast milk of a donor who lacks instruction and is sterilized insufficiently, the “breast milk bank”, which has been beginning to be recognized, will lose the trust, and it warns.

How to create a system that ensures safety and provides the required amount of breast milk.
And, in order to maintain the system even after the support of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, how to secure operating expenses is a major issue that must be considered in the future.

Professor Mizuno is working hard every day to coordinate with related people while he is being examined. I once again heard about my thoughts on the “Breast Milk Bank”.
"When a child dies of mortal enteritis, it does not die immediately. Parents see the intestines rupture and then suffer various illnesses for a week or two and die. Because she lacks breast milk, she wants to eliminate the mother who regrets having died of her broken intestine. ''

“Children are a treasure. I want to create a system that can provide breast milk from donors to all babies that need it. Each story I see as a doctor has moved us and politics. I want to give this benefit back to us. ''

How to grow breast milk bank

The baby introduced at the beginning is said to have been well-fed with his mother's breast milk after drinking the breast milk provided by the donor for three days.

The “Breast Milk Bank” is expanding, backed by political movements.

It is said that the spread of the new coronavirus will affect the opening of a new "Breast Milk Bank" scheduled for June after August.
I would like to look at how efforts to save small lives will grow in the future.