These Chennai mothers are saving lives by donating their breast milk to unknown babies

To keep premature babies healthy, several new mothers are donating their breast milk to the hospitals so that infants whom they don't even know, could also be fed

By: News Desk |
May 14, 2017 2:41 pm

Newborn children require utmost care and attention, even more so if they are born preterm. To keep premature babies healthy, many new mothers in Chennai are donating their breast milk to the hospitals so that infants whom they don’t even know, could also be fed. By doing this, they are indeed setting an example.

According to a report in the Times of India, these new mothers are part of an initiative called Natural Parenting Community which has been coordinating breast milk donation. One of a regular donor Wahida Satishkumar said, “Sometimes the hospitals contact us, sometimes we donate on a regular basis because the milk can be stored at the hospital”.

Just like Wahida Satishkumar, 32-year-old Sharanya Govindarajalu, who gave birth to a baby seven months ago, also sends around 150 ml of her breast milk for five days in a week to a neonatal hospital in Chennai. Right now, there are as many as nine government breast milk banks in Chennai. The Institute of Child Health in Egmore is one of the earliest to have a milk bank and is also planning to form four more by this year.

Dr K Kumudha, a neonatologist, said awareness has grown and more mothers are willing to donate breast milk but more milk bank centres are still needed.”The survival rate of preterm babies is much higher now and having a regular supply of donor breast milk can go a long way in keeping them healthy. It also reduces the rate of infections in the babies,” added Dr K Kumudha