Jaipur:
It’s a bank unlike any other. It saves the lives of the smallest and
the weakest when their mothers can’t. The growing demand and importance
of human milk banks will see the first one in North India being opened
in Mewar region this month and another in Kolkata at SSKM hospital.
Called Divya Mothers Milk Bank, the Mewar bank will be in tune with the Human Milk Banking Association of North America, says Devendra Agarwal, founder of Maa Bhagwati Vikas Santhan, the NGO supporting this initiative. Mewar’s milk bank will be the fourth functional one after Pune, Mumbai and Surat, and will be established at Panna Dhai Hospital, Udaipur.
This initiative will help Mewar region which is battling high infant mortality rates. A recent state health department survey has found that 42% of newborns in Rajasthan are undernourished and need mother’s milk. Breastfeeding and donated milk can reduce infant mortality rates by 22 %. “We intend to identify such children to provide milk to them,” said Agarwal. “Lack of mother’s milk has hindered their growth.” Milk, which is free, will be available after doctors and hospitals prescribe it. The bank can daily accommodate 60 donors and has a storage capacity of six litres.
Dr RK Agarwal, one of the founders of the bank, says, “Seeking donation is, however, a challenge and requires counseling of potential donors. Our vision is to increase the availability of mother’s milk throughout the nation.”
Milk banks are a boon for pre-term babies whose mothers don’t usually have milk for the first 2-3 days. “In such cases, human milk is better than formula or cow milk,” says Dr Jayashree Mondkar, head of neonatology at Sion Hospital, Mumbai.
The likely donors, says Agarwal, will be mothers who give birth to stillborn infants and those with surplus milk. Medical tests to exclude HIV/ AIDS will first be conducted on the donors. The milk, after being expressed with suction machines, will be transferred to storage containers.
Called Divya Mothers Milk Bank, the Mewar bank will be in tune with the Human Milk Banking Association of North America, says Devendra Agarwal, founder of Maa Bhagwati Vikas Santhan, the NGO supporting this initiative. Mewar’s milk bank will be the fourth functional one after Pune, Mumbai and Surat, and will be established at Panna Dhai Hospital, Udaipur.
This initiative will help Mewar region which is battling high infant mortality rates. A recent state health department survey has found that 42% of newborns in Rajasthan are undernourished and need mother’s milk. Breastfeeding and donated milk can reduce infant mortality rates by 22 %. “We intend to identify such children to provide milk to them,” said Agarwal. “Lack of mother’s milk has hindered their growth.” Milk, which is free, will be available after doctors and hospitals prescribe it. The bank can daily accommodate 60 donors and has a storage capacity of six litres.
Dr RK Agarwal, one of the founders of the bank, says, “Seeking donation is, however, a challenge and requires counseling of potential donors. Our vision is to increase the availability of mother’s milk throughout the nation.”
Milk banks are a boon for pre-term babies whose mothers don’t usually have milk for the first 2-3 days. “In such cases, human milk is better than formula or cow milk,” says Dr Jayashree Mondkar, head of neonatology at Sion Hospital, Mumbai.
The likely donors, says Agarwal, will be mothers who give birth to stillborn infants and those with surplus milk. Medical tests to exclude HIV/ AIDS will first be conducted on the donors. The milk, after being expressed with suction machines, will be transferred to storage containers.
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