Two weeks ago a 32-year-old woman’s baby boy died soon after birth at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. What is heartening is that the lady volunteered to donate her breast milk to the human milk bank at the hospital’s Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
“Though she could not feed her baby, she wanted to be of use to another hungry baby,” said M. Geethanjali, Nodal Officer of the NICU.
Dr. Geethanjali said that many new mothers are motivated to donate the extra milk to the bank. It is also good for their health.
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The human milk bank was inaugurated by the Chief Minister (through video conferencing) on August 3. The facility began full fledged functioning after the freezer facility was installed.
Many lactating mothers come voluntarily every two to three hours a day to donate milk.
In September alone, 157 mothers donated 13,910 ml milk. After testing, 10,090 ml milk was certified as fit for storage. The rest had to be discarded due to reasons such as bacterial growth and not meeting other hygiene parameters.
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Stored in 200 ml containers
The milk is pooled and then stored in 200 ml containers. Samples of 20 ml are then tested.
The result is obtained in 24 to 48 hours, after which milk fit for consumption is stored.
Hospital staff is educating donors on simple steps they can follow before and after they donate milk to ensure their contribution does not go waste.
The milk can be stored in a freezer and used for up to six months. In all, 50 hungry babies in the ward were fed with the milk.
Forty among them were babies whose mothers were under treatment for post natal complications in Coimbatore and in the nearby districts.
The rest were babies whose mothers had infections and other ailments and therefore could not feed them. There were also some abandoned babies amongst them.
Many lactating mothers come voluntarily every two to three hours a day to donate milk.