A breast milk bank was inaugurated at the Institute of Maternal and Child Health (IMCH) of the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, in September last year as an experimental venture to ensure the availability of breast milk to every newborn.
A year down the line, it has been able to feed more than 1,800 babies in dire need of breast milk, supplied by around 1,400 lactating mothers.
Newborns often require milk from the bank when their mothers are unable to feed them since they have contagious diseases, are in critical condition, or are not lactating enough. Milk is also provided to newborns who are in intensive care units, or are underweight or have micronutrient deficiencies.
The milk is donated by lactating mothers who give birth at the hospital as well as others in the neighbourhood. It is provided free of cost to the babies in need. Mothers whose babies are unable to take breast milk also often donate milk to the bank. The milk thus collected is pasteurised and preserved in a freezer where it can be stored for months.
However, the current milk collection at the bank is just enough to meet the requirements at the hospital. The bank collected around 700 millilitres to 1.5 litres of milk every day, with not much to spare after use in the hospital, said a press release.
Over the past one year, the bank has been able to collect 1.26 lakh millilitres of milk. Considering the success of the breast milk bank here, the State government has decided to replicate the venture at SAT Hospital at Thiruvananthapuram and the Thrissur Medical College Hospital.
