Safdarjung Hospital has launched a Lactation Management Unit (LMU), a center where mothers admitted to the hospital will collect, store and distribute breast milk that their babies can drink within three months. Mother-NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).
Dr. Ratan Gupta, Head of Pediatric Department of Safdarjung Hospital, said that about 2,000 new-born babies who are admitted to mother-NICU every year will benefit from milk bank. “We have parents from Palwal, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Meerut coming to the hospital with critically ill newborns. Such infants have a high risk of death. A milk bank will be very useful for them,’ added Dr Gupta.
The LMU will cater to newborns born alive before the completion of 37 weeks of gestation – on a ventilator, on CPAP (supportive breathing), with pneumonia or unable to breastfeed. Breast milk will be stored and fed to the baby through a tube when needed within three months.
There are about 100 milk banks across the country, most of them in South India. There are Milk Banks at Kalawati Sharan Hospital, Chacha Nehru Children’s Hospital and AIIMS in Delhi. At Kalavati Sharan Hospital, this facility can be availed only by newborns born in the hospital.
According to Dr Sandeep Bansal, Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital, studies have shown that breastfeeding improves neurodevelopmental outcomes with three additional IQ points for breastfed children.
Dr. Sugandha Arya, in charge of Mother-NICU, said that there are 27 million births in the country every year, with a neonatal mortality rate of 20 deaths per 1,000 live births. “This facility will significantly reduce neonatal mortality and morbidity at Safdarjung Hospital,” he added.
“With India contributing to 25% of the global prematurity burden, it is estimated that a 3/4th reduction in mortality is possible with cost-effective and feasible interventions such as breastfeeding. This has the potential to prevent 1,60,000 under-five deaths every year in India,” he said. she said