Rekha Chhaidwal was at Udaipur’s MB General Hospital to get her two-year-old daughter vaccinated when she noticed a poster announcing a unique service for newborns — a mother’s milk bank.

Curious, she and her husband, Amit, visited the nearby Divya Mother’s Milk Bank with their five-month-old son. When she found out that the facility can help nourish scores of babies who cannot be breastfed, she was more than willing to donate her milk. Over the next few days, each morning she arrived with her husband at the milk bank and used a pump to collect and donate her breast milk. Rekha has donated 34 times at the recently opened milk bank. Asked about her regular donations, the young mother, who has studied till Class X, says, “What if my child gets sick and I am not able to breastfeed him? This service is a boon for infants.”

Rajasthan has a high infant mortality rate of 52 per 1,000 live births, and 42 per cent of the State’s newborns are undernourished and at risk. Moreover, it is scientifically proven that mother’s milk can reduce infant mortality by 22 per cent among babies who can’t be breastfed. This makes Rekha’s contribution truly life-saving, and the milk bank’s coordinators, Archana Shaktawat and Saroj Patel, are effusive in their praise for her.

Set up with the support of a local non-profit organisation, Maa Bhagwati Vikas Sansthan, the bank supplies, free of charge, donated breast milk for babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of MB General Hospital and other babies unable to breastfeed. Similar banks exist in Mumbai, Pune, Surat and Kolkata.

After setting up the country’s first human milk bank in Mumbai, Dr Armida Fernandez of the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital and Medical College had said, “Every hospital with a large NICU must have a human milk bank.” However, there was no such facility in North India, even in New Delhi, until the Udaipur bank opened on April 14. By end-May, it had collected 323 units (one unit is 30 ml) of milk, and 192 units were used. Rekha alone has donated 156 units.

Devendra Agarwal, founder of the NGO that set up the milk bank, says India has a tradition of foster mothers and wet nurses. He perceives the milk bank to be a modern version of that service. “It is common knowledge that mother’s milk is the ultimate wonder drug for infants; banked human milk is the next best. We want to make sure that every baby gets breast milk even if its mother cannot breastfeed,” he says.

Twenty-year-old Manisha Ved has donated twice, convinced her contribution is valuable. “While anyone can donate blood, only a mother — that too a lactating mother who has surplus milk — can donate human milk. It’s a unique and divine gift,” she says. Her husband, a barber, supported her even though her sister worried that she might pick up an infection at the donation centre. “I saw a news story on a local television channel about this mother’s milk bank; and when I came for my baby’s vaccination at two-and-a-half months, I walked in to check out the facility,” she recalls. She adds sheepishly that she hasn’t told her parents, fearing their disapproval.

As human milk banks are not common, there are many misconceptions about them. Therefore, when a prospective donor walks into Divya Mother’s Milk Bank, she is counselled and her doubts are cleared. “We also record her basic medical history and take a blood sample to run tests,” says Archana, Coordinator (Administration). An in-house counsellor and lab technician are at hand. Though the pathology and microbiology services are outsourced, the blood report is ready within two hours.

The counsellor enumerates the benefits of human milk banking: It ensures a continuous supply of safe mother’s milk for sick and pre-term babies and reduces infection rates in hospitalised babies. Moreover, it is beneficial for the mother too, as frequent expression helps maintain lactation. Of course, its biggest advantage is that it promotes positive breastfeeding practices in the community.

Once a donation is made, proper storage is crucial. Set up at an investment of Rs 25 lakh, the bank has the requisite facilities. Saroj, Coordinator (Operations), says the bank can store human milk for six months at -20 degrees Celsius. “We have two deep freezers. The first is used to store fresh, raw milk at -5 degrees Celsius for two to three days. Then the milk is pooled and mixed, and transferred into containers. It is pasteurised and then stocked in dispensing bottles, after 10 ml is set aside for culture,” she explains.

Through the milk bank, Agarwal hopes to increase the availability of mother’s milk throughout the nation, and educate people about the associated health benefits for infants. He adds, “We also hope to facilitate research on donated human milk and its health outcomes.” According to the World Health Organisation, India has the highest number of pre-term babies — and few mothers who deliver prematurely are able to breastfeed. Only a human milk bank can give these infants a better chance at survival and ensure good health.

— © Women's Feature Service

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