Gurgaon: A good news for mothers who are unable to lactate.
Fortis La Femme in association with the Breast Milk Foundation formally launched first National Capital Region’s first human milk bank ‘Amaara’ in Delhi’s posh Greater Kailash locality.
According to media reports, the bank will accumulate milk from nursing mothers who have some extra milk, and are ready to give it to mothers who are unable to lactate because of some medical issues.
The milk will be provided to those who are premature, surrogate or sick babies and mothers can’t produce enough milk, officials said.
The main program of the Amaara Milk Bank will include not just the collection, processing and distribution of donated milk, but collaboration with government bodies and non-government organisations to promote awareness of breastfeeding and acceptance of donor milk.
Also read: Mila Kunis: Breastfeeding, a great workout
Collected milk will be screened, pasteurised, stored in a sealed bottle attached with a nutritional value label and refrigerated.
It is the responsibility of the hospital to pay for the donors’ screening and blood tests as well as physician’s approval, officials added.
The cost of one bottle is 200 rs and those are in need of it will have to pay the amount to buy a bottle.
“Our goal is to have mothers nurse their own babies, but in certain cases it is necessary to provide a supplement. The bank can be accessed only for vulnerable babies. We encourage mothers who have extra milk to consider donating it,” said Dr Raghuram Mallaiah, director of Neonatology, La Femme.
Fortis officials said they collected four litres of baby milk from 12 donors in the last three weeks from their hospitals.
Also read: Breast pumps seen as solution for young working mothers
Those who want to help and are interested in donating the extra milk can schedule a drop-off using the helpline 9999035600. They can upload a Blood test results on a soon-to-be-launched website and sign a consent form.
The official will come at the doorstep to accumulate the sample and then after this the milk will be shipped to the bank in refrigerated box.
The human milk is essential for development of required immunity in a baby to fight diseases such as gastrointestinal infections, urinary tract infection, childhood cancers and may prevent obesity, reveals study.
Not only it is beneficial for babies but also mothers get benefit from breastfeeding as it reduces the chances of breast and ovarian cancer, diabetes or postmenopausal osteoporosis and it is also of great help in shedding post-pregnancy weight.
