Surya Hospital launches Human Milk Bank in Pune to support non-lactating mothers and pre-mature babies
Wakad, 14th January 2023: Globally, 15 million babies born preterm, 1/5th are born in India. Given that prematurity is the leading cause of death in children under 5 years across the globe, there is no doubt that India has a huge need for neonatal critical care facilities. Human milk feeding, when compared to formula feeding significantly reduces the risk of mortality, serious infections and duration of hospital stay in premature babies.
In a move to strengthen outcomes for non-lactating mothers and new-born babies at its healthcare facilities, Surya Hospital inaugurated the Human Milk Bank at its Wakad in-patient facility. Leading TV and film actress Mrinal Kulkarni inaugurated the facility, which will help prevent feed intolerance and facilitate early recovery for preterm babies.
As per WHO, increasing breastfeeding to near-universal levels could save more than 8,00,000 lives every year, the majority being children under six months. Breastfeeding decreases the risk of mothers developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. It is estimated that increased breastfeeding could avert 20,000 maternal deaths each year due to breast cancer.
While speaking at the launch of the Human Milk Bank, Mrinal Kulkarni, leading TV and Film actress said, “As most of the sick newborns and premature babies do not get mother’s milk in the first week of life, human milk banks are a boon to them. It helps prevent many diseases in children, including cancer. Even mothers are protected from ovarian and breast cancer. This is a good initiative taken by Surya Hospital to set-up a human milk bank as it will be a blessing to many. This will be beneficial to many new-born babies.”
Addressing the media on the dais, Dr. Sachin Shah, Director – Neonatology & Paediatric Intensive Care Services said, “Our neonatal unit caters to nearly 700 new born babies each year, including intramural and extramural births. Our estimates are that up to 90% of our admissions are preterm and 60-70% of the admissions are of a gestational age of less than 32 weeks. These are the babies who can only be fed mother’s milk. We are committed to breastfeeding and ensure that every newborn is on mother’s milk. The daily human milk requirement in our NICU is approximately 3 litres. We firmly believe that every Neonatal Intensive Care Unit should be equipped with a human milk banking facility.”
Essentially every mother can breastfeed. Due to some exceptional circumstances like postnatal depression, serious illness and hormonal changes, some mothers cannot produce enough milk. Traditionally such babies who do not have access to mother’s milk are given infant formula milk or cow’s milk.
Highlighting the importance of Human Milk Bank Dr. Manisha Khalane, Lactation Consultant at Surya Hospital said, “We want nursing moms to give their breast milk because all premature babies who are underweight need an ongoing supply of breast milk. We have been utilising formula milk up until now, which is not a substitute for human breast milk. Such milk is not nutritious and also increases the risk of certain medical and surgical problems in neonates, especially preterm babies. Breast milk, on the other hand, contains anti-infective cells, antibodies, and growth hormones.”
Human Milk Banks at Surya Hospital receive milk from donor mothers with excessive milk production after meeting the needs of their own babies and having undergone careful screening for underlying health conditions. Expressed milk is then refrigerated in special containers. This milk is then pasteurized, screened for infections, and stored in a deep freezer. When the need arises, the frozen milk is thawed and fed to the newborn.
Exclusive breastfeeding has the potential to prevent 13 per cent of under-five deaths globally each year. Early initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of birth in addition to exclusive breastfeeding can cut down 22 per cent of all new born deaths worldwide.
