Collaboration with the Muslim community leads to new fatwa approving donor breast milk for Muslim babies when needed
A dedicated team of healthcare workers and leaders from the Muslim community collaborated on a new Islamic religious ruling, called a fatwa, that gives Muslim families approval to use donor breast milk when needed for preterm and medically vulnerable babies.
This is the first-of-its-kind fatwa in the United States and comes after in-depth discussions between Muslim scholars and imams in the Twin Cities and experts from M Health Fairview, Children’s Minnesota, Minnesota Milk Bank for Babies, and Minnesota Breastfeeding Coalition.
M Health Fairview healthcare workers in birthplaces and neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) across our system have seen that Muslim families are often reluctant to accept pasteurized donor breast milk for their newborns due to uncertainty over religious beliefs.
A Muslim legal expert signed the fatwa approving the use of donor breast milk on Nov. 16, 2023.
“I am tremendously proud of this collaborative effort to break down barriers and create a solution that will educate and empower Muslim families to navigate the cultural, religious, and medical aspects of care,” said Nancy Fahim, MD, neonatologist with M Health Fairview and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “The fatwa will help health care workers have culturally sensitive conversations with patients who are hesitant about using donor milk when it is medically necessary, allowing us to better care for our tiniest patients and our communities.”
Benefits of breast milk
Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for most babies. It can protect them from infections, boost development, and decrease the risk of chronic conditions like asthma, type 1 diabetes, and obesity well beyond infancy. Breast milk is easier for newborns to digest compared to formula, especially for preterm babies whose intestinal system is underdeveloped, making them more prone to infections.
Some mothers may need a bridge until their own milk supply increases or have medical issues resulting in low milk supply. If a mother’s own milk is not available, pasteurized donor milk for fragile or premature babies can be lifesaving and significantly reduces the risk of serious infections, like sepsis or necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a life-threatening intestinal tract disease.
M Health Fairview offers donor milk for those who can’t breastfeed or aren’t making enough milk. The donor milk comes from local milk banks, which approve donors after they pass screening tests to ensure the donors are healthy and the milk is safe. Milk from several donors is then mixed together, bottled, heat-treated to kill bacteria, tested for bacteria, and frozen.
Commitment to health equity
Donor milk concerns in the Muslim community stem from Islamic teachings that a woman providing breast milk develops kinship with the baby who receives it. The fatwa provides information on the health benefits of breast milk for newborns, clarifies Islamic teachings, and encourages the use of donor milk when needed.
Muslims from across the country and world can use this fatwa for clarification of Islamic teachings and to ease concerns and hesitancy about donor milk. M Health Fairview hospitals will provide copies of the fatwa to patients who seek guidance.
M Health Fairview is committed to advancing health equity and improving the health and wellbeing of our community, inside and outside our hospital and clinic walls. We know that nearly 80 percent of health is influenced by factors outside of clinical care, and we continuously strive to meet the specific needs of the communities we serve.
"We are rooted in our community to advance health equity so that everyone can thrive,” said Keith Allen, director of community health programs at M Health Fairview. “This work cannot be done alone, and through our collaboration with Muslim community leaders and other health systems and nonprofits, we are able to provide critical information and resources to the Muslim community to advance knowledge and care.”
