<p>As many as 133 out of 1,781 babies born from April to November this year died within one month in Dakshina Kannada district, according to statistics compiled by the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) wing of the district health and family welfare department. </p>.<p>The district’s neo-natal (below one month babies) mortality rate of 7.4 per cent, though is much lower than the state’s neo-natal mortality (which is around 17 per 1,000 live births), the district administration has refused to wring its hands in helplessness and allow more tiny babies to keep dying. </p>.<p>A concern to save as many babies as possible resulted in deciding to set up a human milk bank at Lady Goshen Hospital. “The human milk bank will be set up in Lady Goshen hospital, as 60 to 65 per cent of the total deaths are in Lady Goshen Hospital’s NICU (newborn intensive care unit),” Prof S Baliga, professor emeritus at Kasturba Medical College (KMS) told <em>DH</em>.</p>.<p>Dr Baliga said that babies with a low birth rate (weighing less than 1,500 gms), with congenital abnormalities and premature babies (less than 32 weeks of gestation) are so sick that mothers cannot feed them. “The colostrum in mother’s milk, described as the elixir of life’, will boost immunity levels and help babies fight infections,” Dr Baliga explained. </p>.<p>Rotary Club of Mangalore, with the backing from senior paediatricians Dr U V Shenoy and Dr Baliga, has decided to implement the over Rs 40-lakh Milk bank project to save babies, the Club’s immediate past president Archie Menezes told <em>DH</em>. “The club overcame many hurdles and raised enough funds under the Global Grant project,” he recollected.</p>.<p>Archie said they have sought the help of well-known Neonatologist Dr Sreenath Manikanti, who had set up the first public donor human milk bank in October 2017, to avoid mistakes made by the government’s first milk bank in Vani Vilas Hospital in Bengaluru.</p>.<p>Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V said they are bent on setting up a milk bank at the earliest and the process is similar to establishing a blood bank. “The bank is a win-win situation as it will not only save babies even under the age of five years but will also give relief to mothers with excess milk,” he said. </p>.<p>Lady Goshen Hospital medical superintendent Dr Durgaprasad M R, Resident Medical Officer (RMO) and bank’s nodal officer Dr Balakrishna hoped that the work on the human milk bank will be completed by January.</p>.<p>A dedicated team to operate the bank is likely to be trained by Dr Sreenath Manikant, they added.</p>.<p>Archie said the club has volunteered to be part of a team, to be set up by the deputy commissioner to monitor Milk Bank during the first few<br />years.</p>.<p><strong>Check out latest DH videos here</strong></p>
<p>As many as 133 out of 1,781 babies born from April to November this year died within one month in Dakshina Kannada district, according to statistics compiled by the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) wing of the district health and family welfare department. </p>.<p>The district’s neo-natal (below one month babies) mortality rate of 7.4 per cent, though is much lower than the state’s neo-natal mortality (which is around 17 per 1,000 live births), the district administration has refused to wring its hands in helplessness and allow more tiny babies to keep dying. </p>.<p>A concern to save as many babies as possible resulted in deciding to set up a human milk bank at Lady Goshen Hospital. “The human milk bank will be set up in Lady Goshen hospital, as 60 to 65 per cent of the total deaths are in Lady Goshen Hospital’s NICU (newborn intensive care unit),” Prof S Baliga, professor emeritus at Kasturba Medical College (KMS) told <em>DH</em>.</p>.<p>Dr Baliga said that babies with a low birth rate (weighing less than 1,500 gms), with congenital abnormalities and premature babies (less than 32 weeks of gestation) are so sick that mothers cannot feed them. “The colostrum in mother’s milk, described as the elixir of life’, will boost immunity levels and help babies fight infections,” Dr Baliga explained. </p>.<p>Rotary Club of Mangalore, with the backing from senior paediatricians Dr U V Shenoy and Dr Baliga, has decided to implement the over Rs 40-lakh Milk bank project to save babies, the Club’s immediate past president Archie Menezes told <em>DH</em>. “The club overcame many hurdles and raised enough funds under the Global Grant project,” he recollected.</p>.<p>Archie said they have sought the help of well-known Neonatologist Dr Sreenath Manikanti, who had set up the first public donor human milk bank in October 2017, to avoid mistakes made by the government’s first milk bank in Vani Vilas Hospital in Bengaluru.</p>.<p>Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V said they are bent on setting up a milk bank at the earliest and the process is similar to establishing a blood bank. “The bank is a win-win situation as it will not only save babies even under the age of five years but will also give relief to mothers with excess milk,” he said. </p>.<p>Lady Goshen Hospital medical superintendent Dr Durgaprasad M R, Resident Medical Officer (RMO) and bank’s nodal officer Dr Balakrishna hoped that the work on the human milk bank will be completed by January.</p>.<p>A dedicated team to operate the bank is likely to be trained by Dr Sreenath Manikant, they added.</p>.<p>Archie said the club has volunteered to be part of a team, to be set up by the deputy commissioner to monitor Milk Bank during the first few<br />years.</p>.<p><strong>Check out latest DH videos here</strong></p>
