Breast milk bank sees over 60 donors monthly

Called Amruthadhare, it has fed close to 900 babies in one year

Ahead of Mother’s Day on May 14, Metrolife checked in on Amruthadhare — Karnataka’s first-ever government breast milk bank. It is located at Vanivilas Hospital, Kalasipalya.

Since it opened, on March 8, 2022, the comprehensive lactation management centre has collected 186 litres of breast milk, of which 123 litres have been used. The milk bank has also helped the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) become completely formula feed-free.

“From the beginning of 2023, we have been giving only breast milk to the babies in the NICU. We are no longer dependent on formula. It has been extremely helpful in treating pre-term babies and in cases where the mother’s milk secretion has been low,” informs
Dr Savitha C, medical superintendent at the hospital.

The milk collected is deep-frozen and stored. “Before use, it is thawed, put through the pre-pasteurisation and pasteurisation process, and checked for infections at the microbiology lab,” she tells Metrolife. The entire process takes about a week’s time. In its first year of operation, between March 2022 to March 2023, the milk bank has helped 886 babies.

Donations flowing in

Amruthadhare sees an average of 60-75 donors a month. “Mothers from all over the country come here to donate milk, not just from Bengaluru. In fact, the very first donation we received last year was from a Dubai-based woman,” informs Archana B, nursing officer at the bank. Until last year, they would get about 50 donors per month.

While lack of awareness among mothers was a challenge in the beginning, lactation counselling has helped educate them about the concept and the benefits of a breast milk bank, she says. So far, the bank has conducted individual lactation counselling for 1,507 mothers, and 5,582 group counselling sessions. “Individual sessions are conducted for donors and group counselling is for postnatal mothers in the hospital dealing with breastfeeding issues,” she elaborates.

“Over the past few months, there has been an increase in both donations and collections at the bank. More people have become aware of its necessity, and see it as akin to blood donation. Many educated mothers from urban Bengaluru voluntarily come to us to donate milk when they have an excess,” informs
Dr Savitha.

A common myth among new mothers is that donating breast milk will lead to insufficient milk production in the future. “This is one of the topics we address in lactation counselling. In fact, they realise that after donating and using the electronic breast pump, their body produces more milk and there is no harm done. After counselling, many mothers have returned to donate, especially since they become aware of the benefits of breast milk for a child,” says Archana. Breast milk helps increase the baby’s weight, reduce cases of infection and sepsis, and also helps in neurological development, she explains.

In addition to collecting breast milk, the bank also provides support to non-lactating mothers. “We often get mothers whose body is not producing milk, but after stimulating them using the electronic breast pump, we’ve noticed their milk production go from 10 ml to 100 ml in just a day’s time,” she tells Metrolife.

The milk bank is operational every day, from 9 am to 5 pm. For information, contact 99005 89419.