HDM Plus

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) both highlight the importance of MOM (Mother’s Own Milk) and Human Donor Milk (HDM) for the health benefits they offer developing infants.  At times, and for a variety of reasons, a mother may not be able to provide enough of her own milk for her infant.  Ni-Q understands how stressful this can be, so the same solution we developed for hospitals is now being offered to families and infants at home! HDM Plus is a solution that ensures your infant continues to receive the benefits of human milk and avoids the use of synthetic formulas. 

HDM Plus is 100% human milk. A mother can mix HDM Plus with her own breast milk to complete a feeding or HDM Plus can be used solely for a baby feeding. 

Ni-Q recommends, when possible, to mix HDM Plus with a mother’s own milk. But when a mother’s milk isn’t available, HDM Plus is the right solution.

HDM Plus is 100% Human Donor Milk.  There are no additives, supplements, or preservatives and it is free of any synthetic additives or fortifiers.

We source our human milk donations from generous and caring moms who want the best for babies. 

All Ni-Q donors are from the United States and each donor undergoes a rigorous health screening process. 

Ni-Q offers significant advantages in safety, nutrition, and knowledge for mothers and their babies:

• Safety: Unlike FCMB, Ni-Q performs forensic-level testing upfront – once donor milk is received – prior to pooling milk for processing.  We also perform a full complement of tests (microbial, toxicology, protein analysis, etc.) to ensure every shipment Ni-Q receives meets our safety and inclusion standards, as well as that the milk received from each donor only contains milk from that donor. 

Not all FCMB’s test before pooling; nor do they validate that the milk received is from one donor. 

Ni-Q’s process also achieves commercial sterility, which eradicates bacteria and viruses. Studies continue to show that the FCMB process does not achieve commercial sterility and does not eradicate all viruses, including Bacillus Cereus.¶

• Nutrition: FCMB milk offers high variability of nutrition per ounce, given the high variability nature of human milk. Ni-Q overcomes this variability issue by batch processing larger volumes of donor milk. This minimizes the variability a single donor can have on a batch’s nutrition levels, and our processing steps allow us to determine the macronutrient (fat, protein, carbohydrate) levels of each batch so we can guarantee HDM Plus offers 20 calories/oz and 1.1 grams of protein/100ml.**

• Knowledge: Unlike FCMB, Ni-Q quarantines its milk after processing and has the leading food-analyzing company validate the nutritional profile.  Ni-Q provides this nutritional information in a nutritional label, so parents know what they are feeding their babies…every time and guaranteed!

Donor milk traditionally sourced online and Ni-Q are at the two extremes of safety and nutrition.

Safety:
• With internet donor milk, there is no real knowledge of the donor (their health history, lifestyle, etc.) or the handling of the donor milk once produced.  There is no guarantee the milk you receive is 100% human milk.  There is no guarantee of the nutritional contents and efficacy of the donor milk.
• Ni-Q performs a detailed donor health screening and microbial and toxicology testing of all donor milk received. Our pasteurization process renders our HDM commercially sterile and we are relentless in investing in the safety of our HDM because we know what’s at stake.  We focus on safety because that is what we would want done to protect our children, too.

Nutrition:
• With internet donor milk, there is highly variable nutrition, because all raw human milk is naturally highly variable.  This results in a parent not knowing what nutrition levels they are feeding their baby and whether it is enough.
• At Ni-Q, our processing addresses the variability of human milk and guarantees HDM Plus to have a minimum of 20 cal/oz and 1.1 grams of protein/100ml.  We provide a nutrition label with each case so every parent has the comfort, knowledge, and security of knowing the nutrition they are feeding their baby.

Traditional Human Donor Milk (HDM) is challenging because it is:

▪ Highly variable in nutrition: Human Milk studies continue to conclude the natural nutritional levels in Human Milk are highly variable.  Many factors drive this variability, including the age, health, and diet of the mother.  By default, this high variability of nutrition also exists with frozen human donor milk.  Therefore, mothers using traditional frozen HDM have not been able to know the actual nutrition (i.e. calories) in each HDM feeding.
▪ Frozen: For many years, HDM has only been available in frozen form, resulting in complexity that comes with properly thawing HDM to ensure the infant receives consistent nutrition with each feeding.”‡
▪ Not sterile: Traditional frozen HDM’s process does not achieve commercial sterility, so it does not eradicate all viruses. 

HDM Plus, however, offers guaranteed, independently-verified nutrition with the convenience and safety of a Ready-to-Feed, shelf-stable pouch.

Ni-Q has never issued a product recall. Our HDM Plus offers a commercially sterile milk that is free from bacteria and viruses.  Ni-Q offers enhanced safety testing protocols at every step of our process:
▪ Donors undergo health history screening and blood panel testing prior to approval. 
▪ Each shipment of Donor Milk received undergoes a full panel of microbial testing, toxicology testing, and forensic-level testing to ensure the donor milk meets our stringent requirements.  Ni-Q rejects any milk not achieving our safety and quality standards.
▪ Ni-Q’s advanced pasteurization system achieves commercial sterility, which means our process eradicates all viruses. Frozen HDM is not commercially sterile.§
▪ Ni-Q’s process is a “closed loop” system, allowing us to control each step of processing, from when the donor milk is received, until it is shipped.   

We take the health and well-being of our donor community, customers, and associates very seriously. Like you, we’re closely monitoring the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Covid-19 does not transfer through human breast milk, according to the current guidelines from the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics. In addition, unlike frozen HDM, Ni-Q produces commercially-sterile donor milk products, which means that our process eradicates viruses.

HDM Plus provides 20 calories/oz and 1.1 grams of protein/100ml.  These levels are guaranteed by a third-party nutrition validation company. 

Yes.  Ni-Q’s Human Donor Milk pouches are BPA Free.

“HDM Plus is a human dairy product that contains human protein. If your infant has sensitivity to gluten or diary, Ni-Q suggests you refer to your pediatrician for guidance prior to starting to use HDM Plus.
Ni-Q does accept donations from mother’s who do not exclusively follow a gluten free or dairy free diet. ”

▪ One of the main benefits of using HDM is for its nutritional content.  Nutritional content is mainly determined by caloric levels.  These calories help support and complement the growth and development of babies.
▪ Human milk is naturally highly variable in its caloric content, so it has been virtually impossible for mothers to know the nutritional content of each feeding.  Ni-Q’s process overcomes this variability concern by guaranteeing its nutritional content, every time!

▪ Each pouch of HDM Plus contains 4 ounces of HDM.
▪ There are 48 pouches in each box

Each pouch is $26. Since HDM Plus is sold in boxes of 48 pouches, each box costs $1,248.

HDM Plus costs $6.50/oz, with a guarantee of 20 cal/oz.
Studies show that frozen HDM averages only 15 cal/oz. So, while others will sell frozen HDM for less per ounce, they will not guarantee their caloric levels. Ni-Q believes the more relevant question than “What is the cost per ounce?” is “What is the cost per calorie per ounce?” After all, one of the main purposes of HDM is nutrition – and nutrition is mainly determined by calories. That’s why we verify the caloric levels of HDM Plus milk.||

Ni-Q suggests HDM Plus be fed to a baby within 4 hours of being opened for the first time or being removed from the refrigerator.

HDM Plus should be used within 1 hour of warming to body temperature or after an infant’s mouth comes in contact with the feeding bottle, whichever comes first.

HDM Plus pouches should not be frozen. If an HDM Plus pouch is frozen, the pouch should be discarded.

Ice packs can be used when transporting HDM Plus to help prevent the temperature of HDM Plus rising above room temperature.

HDM Plus has been designed to either be mixed with mother’s own milk or independently fed to an infant. Ni-Q suggests consultation with your pediatrician for specific feeding plans and mixing guidelines to be followed for your infant.

Storage:

HDM Plus should be stored in a safe, dry location at room temperature. HDM Plus should not be exposed to extreme temperate gradient changes such as heat and cold.

Handling:

Each pouch of HDM Plus should be agitated by gently shaking the pouch for 15-20 seconds prior to opening.  After opening a pouch, any unused portion of HDM Plus should be placed in the refrigerator. HDM Plus can be used for up to 5 days after opening as long as the pouch is refrigerated after each use.

Feeding:

Each HDM Plus pouch can be warmed to/with body temperature prior to use.  

An opened pouch can be used for up to 5 days as long as the pouch is refrigerated after each use.  

Each pouch has a one-year shelf stability life.  Each pouch is clearly marked with its expiration date.

Ni-Q standard shipping is via UPS Ground. UPS Ground is usually delivered within 3-4 business days. If an urgent need arises, Ni-Q can provide overnight shipping (if requested at the time of ordering).

Ensuring the quality of HDM Plus is a major goal of Ni-Q. Once HDM Plus leaves Ni-Q, we can no longer ensure its quality for our users, so Ni-Q does not accept returns of HDM Plus.