Human milk banking in the volunteer sector: Policy development and actuality in 1970s Australia

Objective: to describe the development of rigorous milk banking policies in the voluntary sector in Australia, 1975-1979, by the non-government organisation, the Nursing Mothers' Association of Australia (now the Australian Breastfeeding Association), and the eventual abandonment of milk banking by the organisation. Design: historical article. Setting: Australia in the years 1975-1979. Conclusions: during the period in which the policy development described here took place, conducting a milk bank to the rigorous standards set by the organisation required too heavy an investment of hours by unpaid volunteer coordinators to be sustainable. Implications for practice: in establishing and continuing a successful milk bank, models which depend less on volunteer hours may be more sustainable