Bengaluru: Breast milk bank at Vani Vilas supports 880 infants in first year

In its first year of operation, the breast milk bank at Vani Vilas provided benefits to a total of 886 babies, including 300 preterm infants.

The breast milk, donated by both new mothers within the hospital and from outside donors, is provided to infants admitted to the neonatal ICU. The milk bank was established on March 8, 2022.

"Since the last two months, we have been giving only breast milk to babies in NICU. Earlier we used to give them formula, but now we don't have to," said Dr Savitha C, medical superintendent at the hospital.

Dr Shivaprakash Sosale, in-charge of NICU, says this has also made babies healthier, and reduced cases of infections and sepsis. "The milk is given to babies who are pre-term or ill, or in cases where the mother's milk secretion is low. It may also be needed for abandoned babies or those whose parents are involved in POCSO cases," he said. The hospital gets a high number of low birth-weight babies, of whom many have related complications.

Over 158 litres of breast milk has been collected at the centre so far, of which 101 litres has been used. The milk collected is deep-frozen and stored. Before use, it is thawed, pasteurised and checked for infections, Dr Savitha said. The hospital has a dedicated 2,400 sq ft area for the milk bank.