Banking on mother’s milk

Very close to the women’s wing of the RNT Medical College is small establishment which is braving all odds to pursue its goal of saving babies through breastfeeding. It not only encourages women to breastfeed their children, but also urges them to donate their milk for infants deprived of this essential nutrition. Within a year, the Divya Mother Milk Bank has made an impact. From initial scepticism of the concept to 848 donor mothers in a year it has marked a milestone.

“In a traditional place like Rajasthan where women are not allowed to decide for themselves, even this number is encouraging,’’ Devendra Agarwal, founder of the Bank told The Hindu .

When he first started the concept, there were few takers. Women have to take permission from their husbands or mothers-in-law to donate milk which is often denied, he explained. Even more difficult is to get women to undergo tests before she donates. These tests are done to ensure that the donor is not on any kind of drugs, narcotics or any other infectious disease like HIV which can be communicated. To convince donors and family to give blood sample is quite a task for the counsellors.

But all this did not deter Mr. Agarwal who believes that 22 per cent infants can be saved in India if they receive colostrum which gives immense immunity to the child. So far, the Bank has had 848 donors who have donated 2,097 times and helped collect 6,661 units of milk which has saved the lives of 566 infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the adjoining Panna Dai Rajkiya Mahila Chikitsalaya.

These children were unable to receive mother’s milk either because the mother died at birth or she was unable to produce milk due to malnutrition or unable to feed her baby because of some infection. One woman has donated milk 140 times.

“Mothers who give birth to still born babies or if the child dies soon after birth can be our best donors but we find it difficult to approach such women because of their state of mind. There has been only one such case. We are promoting milk donation so that we have more volunteers to donate milk,’’ Mr Agarwal explained.

The Bank collects excess milk from mothers pre-screened for various diseases through a pump, which is then pooled, pasteurised and frozen and can be used for up to six months. The small clinic has the latest equipment for the entire process.