The human milk bank at the District Headquarters Hospital in Pollachi has become an essential facility for newborn care in the region. Over the past three years, it has provided milk from lactating mothers to more than 1,500 babies.
The facility received 135.52 liters of mothers’ milk from donors in 2021-22, 321 liters in 2022-23, and 362 liters in 2023-24. A total of 1,128 mothers donated 818.52 liters of milk during this three-year period, revealed hospital authorities.
Hospital superintendent, E. Raja mentioned that the human milk bank was established at the hospital with funding from the Rotaract Club of Chennai. The facility is equipped with a breast pumping machine, allowing donors to conveniently donate breast milk at the hospital.
The milk bank plays a crucial role in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where it supports the treatment and care of babies with low birth weight, newborns requiring phototherapy, and those experiencing birth complications. “Milk from the bank is provided to such newborns at the 30-bedded NICU, and also when mothers cannot produce enough milk due to preterm delivery or in the case of mothers suffering from post-delivery medical complications,” said Dr. Raja.
The facility pasteurises donor milk and stores it in a cooling station. Samples from each donation are tested for infections, and the milk is brought to the correct temperature before being given to babies.
The District Headquarters Hospital manages approximately 250 deliveries each month, with around 40 babies requiring NICU care. These infants are often born to high-risk mothers referred from other hospitals in Pollachi, Anamalai, Valparai, and parts of Tiruppur.
“Several donor groups actively support the milk bank, and they were recently honoured during the breastfeeding week celebrations,” added Dr. Raja.
