The Northwest Mothers Milk Bank and McHenry, Ill.-based breast pump provider Medela Inc. earlier this month announced a partnership with King West Pictures to increase awareness of human milk banks and the value of breast milk feeding, especially for preterm babies.

The collaborators will launch a film screening series this summer to showcase families helping to provide the benefits of breast milk, including to preterm babies in neonatal intensive care units, and to raise money for the planned Northwest milk bank.

The Northwest milk bank is being developed in Portland and is intended to serve Washington and Oregon. Currently, the nonprofit organization says, the milk banks nearest to the Northwest are in San Jose, Calif., and Denver.

Operating as a nonprofit organization, it isn't yet a functioning milk bank, but was established by a group of volunteers to collect, pasteurize, and distribute donor human milk to meet medical needs targeted in the Portland and Seattle areas. The organization has been designated a "developing milk bank" by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, UNICEF, and the U.S. Surgeon General, breast milk provides optimal nutrition for babies. Human milk acts as medicine for preterm babies and has proven to reduce incidents of necrotizing enterocolitis, which is the death of intestinal tissue, and other fatal diseases common among preterm babies in the NICU.

In the United States, the rate of premature births has been increasing, and this year more than 517,000 babies will be born premature. On average, 89 babies are born preterm each week in Oregon, and 177 are born preterm each week in Washington. More than 40 authors of a recent global action study on premature births found that the U.S. ranks sixth among all nations in rate of prematurity. To date, there are only 11 human milk banks in the nation designed to support families in need of breast milk when a mother is unable to provide breast milk for her infant.

"Donor Milk: the Documentary" highlights the benefits that donated breast milk brings not just to the recipient of the milk, but also to the mothers providing the milk. The documentary recounts the stories of families, including screenwriter and filmmaker Kevin West and his wife's tragedy of losing their baby late in term. His wife was able to cope with the loss by donating her breast milk to sick and preterm babies in need. Based on their experiences, West wrote and directed the film with co-producer Jarred King.

"After viewing 'Donor Milk: the Documentary,' Medela and the Northwest milk bank wanted to share the passion and commitment of this film with the community at large," says June Winfield, board chairwoman for the Northwest milk bank. "Working together, we are able to do more to raise awareness about the importance of human milk donations, provide education for health professionals, and support the opening of the human milk bank in Portland."

Medela, a provider of breastfeeding research and education, breast pumps, and other lactation products, works with professionals in the breastfeeding community on the impact of human milk to health-compromised babies in the NICU.

Medela President Carolin Archibald says, "Current milk banks cannot keep up with the demand for donor human milk for infants with compromised health. We applaud and support the efforts of the NWMMB to provide human milk for medical needs."