In Gujarat, babies born in times of corona survive on milk of ‘mothers’ kindness’

SURAT: Had it not been for the milk bank, Smruti’s (name changed) newborn child would have been deprived of the much-needed colostrum, the first milk that the newborn is fed by the lactating mother. Not only was she Covid-19 positive, her son too tested positive at Surat Municipal Corporation-run SMIMER Hospital.
But thanks to Yashoda, the hospital’s Human Milk Bank, the baby received 400ml milk from donors and four days later he was discharged as a healthy baby.

Smruti’s baby is not the only recipient of the magnanimity shown by many willing donors. Three other babies too were fed mother’s milk from this bank.
In Anand, the human milk bank at Akanksha Hospital collected 210 liters of mother's milk donated by women who recently gave birth through April-July. “Fortunately, Covid lockdown did not dry up our reserves as mothers did not stop donating. This helped us help nearly 60 babies in the neonatal ICU,” said fertility and surrogacy specialist Dr Nayana Patel.
In Ahmedabad, Arpan Human Milk Bank for premature neonates also received eight liters of milk donated by mothers. “The mothers just requested us to collect milk from them from home and we obliged as it helped eight premature and sick children nurse back to health,” said senior neonatologist Dr Ashish Mehta.
According to SMIMER Hospital officials, more than 250 Covid-19 positive women delivered babies between March and July at the hospital. During this critical time for the medical fraternity as well as the new mothers, doctors ensured that these babies were not deprived of the liquid gold which is rich in nutrients and antibodies and helps the baby develop immunity.
“With the rapid spread of coronavirus in the city, people, especially the new mothers who had tested Covid-19 positive in the hospital were afraid to breastfeed their newborns. We had to counsel them at every step to remove all sorts of misconceptions that they may inadvertently infect their child. Nearly all the women could breastfeed their babies,” said Dr Nirali Mehta, Assistant Professor, Pediatric Department, SMIMER Hospital, told TOI.
The first week of August is celebrated as ‘breastfeeding week’ across the country. It creates awareness among lactating mothers about the importance of breastfeeding the newborn for its overall development.
“nCov hasn’t deterred our commitment to encourage breastfeeding and also encourage other mothers to donate surplus milk for other needy babies at the hospital. Since March, a total 243 mothers have donated 29,150ml milk to our bank. About 432 newborn babies were given milk from the bank during this period,” Dr Mehta said.
Explaining the importance of colostrum, Dr Mehta said: “Availability of safe donor human milk at NICU is critical to ensure that every sick and preterm baby receives human milk within the first hour. Therefore, donor human milk plays a lifesaving role by helping these babies receive the benefits of early initiation and exclusive feeding of human milk.”
Project Yashoda, which started at SMIMER Hospital in December 2008, has a mechanism to collect, pasteurize, test, and store safe donor human milk from lactating mothers and provide it to those newborns who are dependent on this milk for various reasons.
“Mothers admitted in postnatal wards at SMIMER Hospital and those who come for vaccination of their newborn children are counselled to donate milk. Most agree immediately,” Dr Mehta added.