Northeast India got its first human milk bank at the Satribari Christian Hospital in Guwahati on Wednesday, November 9.
The human milk bank in Guwahati, which is the 15th such unit in India, will be able to store human milk for up to six years.
“Breast milk is the best food for newborn babies. To bring down cases of neonatal mortality and mortality below 5 years of age, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, starting within the first hour of birth is recommended,” said Dr Devajit Sarma, paediatric and neonatal care specialist at Satribari Christian Hospital.
“In India, there are many cases of newborns not getting enough milk in the first few days as the mother could be sick, have some infectious disease or not produce enough milk. Stored breast mik from the human milk bank will be the best option for such babies,” he added.
“The best option for babies who do not get their mother’s milk is pasteurised donor milk, stored in a milk bank. In the milk bank, we will collect milk from lactating women who are willing to donate. It will then be pasteurised and stored in a freezer,” said Dr Sarma.
“Till today, we had only 14 milk banks in India, and none in Northeast India,” Dr Sarma said, while expressing his gratitude to Dr Debashish Das, former governor of Rotary Club district 3240 which donated Rs 10 lakh to help the institute buy the required equipment.
“We have over 100 deliveries in our hospital per month and can collect milk from some of those mothers. We will also encourage other lactating mothers to donate to the bank. In coming days, we might even include some incentives for the donors,” Dr Sarma further said.
(With Inputs From Hindustan Times)
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