Kiersten Israel‐Ballard

Biographic Data

ID7728661
NAMEKiersten Israel‐Ballard
GIVEN NAMESKiersten
FAMILY NAMEIsrael‐Ballard
SIGNATUREBALLARD K I
AFFILIATIONSProgram for Appropriate Technology in Health
ORCID0000-0002-3489-8213
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS8
TOTAL CITATIONS0
AUTHOR COUNT8
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2010
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2026
H-INDEX0

  • Evaluating the Effect of Random Multi‐Donor Pooling on the Nutritional Variability in Donor Human Milk Using Computer Modeling

    Open AccessR Mitchell Smith, Scott J Richter et al.ARTICLEMaternal and Child Nutrition2026

    Protein and fat concentrations in donor human milk (DHM) can vary twofold to threefold and are influenced by the number of unique donors per pool. The aim of this study was to broadly characterize how the number of donors (2-10) randomly combined into a pool during milk bank processing influenced the variability of macronutrients, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive factors in DHM. The minimum number of donors required for 80% of the pools to meet …

  • The global status of human milk banking

    Open AccessKiersten Israel‐Ballard, Emily LaRose et al.ARTICLEMaternal and Child Nutrition2024

    Human milk provides essential nutrition for infants and holds many health benefits for infants and mothers. When a mother's own milk is not available for her infant, the World Health Organization recommends feeding donor human milk (DHM) from a human milk banking facility. DHM is human milk produced, collected then donated to a human milk bank (HMB). HMBs serve many vital functions, including screening donor mothers, then collecting, processing, …

  • Facility-based care for moderately low birthweight infants in India, Malawi, and Tanzania

    Open AccessKatherine E A Semrau, Rana R Mokhtar et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2023

    Globally, increasing rates of facility-based childbirth enable early intervention for small vulnerable newborns. We describe health system-level inputs, current feeding, and discharge practices for moderately low birthweight (MLBW) infants (1500- 10% less than their birthweight; 18.8% of infants were discharged with weights below facility-specific policy [1800g in India, 1500g in Malawi, and 2000g in Tanzania]. Based on descriptive analysis, we f…

  • Potential effectiveness of integrating human milk banking and lactation support on neonatal outcomes at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, Kenya

    Open AccessCalistus Wilunda, Kiersten Israel‐Ballard et al.ARTICLEMaternal and Child Nutrition2023

    We assessed the potential effectiveness of human milk banking and lactation support on provision of human milk to neonates admitted in the newborn unit (NBU) at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, Kenya. This pre-post intervention study collected data from mothers/caregivers and their vulnerable neonates or term babies who lacked sufficient mother's milk for several reasons admitted in the NBU. The intervention included establishing a human milk bank and…

  • Maintaining human milk bank services throughout the Covid‐19 pandemic

    Open AccessNatalie Shenker, Marta Staff et al.ARTICLEMaternal and Child Nutrition2021

    If maternal milk is unavailable, the World Health Organization recommends that the first alternative should be pasteurised donor human milk (DHM). Human milk banks (HMBs) screen and recruit milk donors, and DHM principally feeds very low birth weight babies, reducing the risk of complications and supporting maternal breastfeeding where used alongside optimal lactation support. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a range of challenges to HMBs worl…

  • Perceptions on donated human milk and human milk banking in Nairobi, Kenya

    Open AccessElizabeth Kimani‐Murage, Elizabeth Wambui Kimani‐Murage et al.ARTICLEMaternal and Child Nutrition2019

    Donor human milk (DHM) is recomended as the best alternative when use of mothers' own milk is not a feasible option. Kenya has not yet established human milk banks (HMBs) for provision of safe DHM, which is free from any physical, chemical, microbiological contaminants or pathogens. This study aimed to establish the perceptions on donating and using DHM, and establishing HMBs in Kenya. Qualitative data were collected through 17 focus group discus…

  • A Cluster Randomised Trial to Determine the Efficacy of the “Feeding Buddies” Programme in Improving Exclusive Breastfeeding Rates Among HIV-Infected Women in Rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

    Open AccessPenny Reimers, Penelope Reimers et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2017

  • Infant feeding practices among HIV-positive women in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, indicate a need for more intensive infant feeding counselling

    Open AccessSera Lewise Young, Kiersten A Israel-Ballard et al.ARTICLEPublic Health Nutrition2010

    Objective To assess feeding practices of infants born to HIV-positive women in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. These data then served as a proxy to evaluate the adequacy of current infant feeding counselling. Design A cross-sectional survey of infant feeding behaviours. Setting Four clinics in greater Dar es Salaam in early 2008. Subjects A total of 196 HIV-positive mothers of children aged 6–10 months recruited from HIV clinics. Results Initiation of b…