About this advice

For parents of premature or unwell newborns, donor breastmilk can be a vital source of nutrition when a mother’s own milk supply is delayed. However, many Muslim families have questions about its permissibility in Islam and concerns about milk kinship.

Our new leaflet, developed by BIMA, the Centre for Islam & Medicine, and Imperial College London, provides clear guidance on:

• Islamic perspectives on donor milk and milk kinship
• How donor milk is sourced, processed, and tracked
• Steps to ensure milk kinship traceability
• Your rights & choices as a parent

We would like to thank Shaykh Zubair Butt for his scholarly input, Gillian Weaver & Natalie Shenkar from the Human Milk Foundation, Laura Atherton from Chester Milk Bank, Debbie Barnett from Milk Bank Scotland and Rehana Meeajan.

We would also like to thank Naomi Mallinson and the North Bristol NHS Trust for the Arabic translation.

Now also available in Arabic – keep scrolling down! 

Read the full leaflet in English here:

Read the leaflet in Arabic here:

If you have concerns, speak to your child’s doctor, nurse, or hospital chaplain for further support.