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Breast milk donation remains taboo in India despite its many benefits, yet now more and more women are coming forward to donate and help others in need.

New Delhi: When their daughter Srishti was born two months premature, underweight and with poor immunity, Rajesh and Chitra Sahni found themselves at a loss.

Not lactating yet, Chitra was heartbroken that she was unable to nurse the child and build her immunity with breast milk. That’s when a friend of Rajesh stepped in and suggested something the couple had never heard of before: A milk bank in Delhi NCR where they could buy breast milk from other mothers at Rs 200 for 130 ml (A baby born on term needs 7-65 ml/feed over the first seven days).

It was a godsend.

Milk banks are the dairy equivalent of blood banks, where mothers with breast milk to spare make a donation to help those in need.

Medical experts around the world insist that a mother’s milk is the only kind babies should be fed for the first six months. The urgency of the recommendation is stronger for premature babies, or preemies, who may be more prone to infections, have difficulty breathing, and face lifelong physical, neurological or learning disabilities in the absence of proper medical intervention.

Also read: Anandiben Patel broke down 2 years ago. Her remark on breastfeeding is now making women cry

Taboo in times of crisis

Premature birth can also lead to low birth weight, which additionally puts the children at increased risk of early growth retardation, infectious disease, developmental delay and death during infancy and childhood.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, prematurity is the leading cause of death in children under the age of five years, with an estimated one million preemies dying every year. Access to breast milk is among the crucial interventions the UN health agency says can help avoid at least 75 per cent of these deaths.

A 2010 study estimated that India had the world’s highest number of preterm births – over 35 lakh in a year – but mothers like Chitra, who find themselves unable to start feeding immediately, still have few alternatives to processed products like formula.

Formula feeds have synthetically generated vitamins and minerals, but they can’t be equipped with colostrum-like anti-infective properties. Also, several preemies develop a wide range of problems like feed intolerance and fatal gut conditions if they are only provided with formula in their early days.

In this light, medical experts tout milk banks as the best alternative to mother’s milk for preemies.

However, such banks remain rare in India despite the high incidence of preterm births. The country’s first milk bank was set up in Mumbai in 1989, but, 29 years later, the count stands at just 22.

A big hurdle in wider acceptance for the concept comes from myths surrounding breast milk, and an aversion to nursing one’s child on a stranger’s milk.

It is a common belief that women who donate milk risk ruining its quality, while some say women stop lactating once they draw milk out using electric pumps, a common method employed by donors. The lack of awareness about milk banks among several neonatologists and paediatricians too doesn’t help.

Also read: Make breastfeeding mandatory: Madras High Court tells Modi govt

However, the truth is that mothers who donate milk tend to secrete more, and the longevity of the breastfeeding period increases. In fact, a lot of the recipients have gone on to become donors themselves once they start generating milk.

“There are not many mothers-in-law or mothers who will allow their daughters to go out and donate milk. They will not even allow them to feed their babies milk from milk banks,” said Geetika Bhagat, a donor and mother of two.

“Blood donation is glorified whereas milk donation is not promoted at all. Mothers are only concerned about feeding their own child. But I think, if it is promoted well, a lot of mothers would be interested in donating their breast milk,” said Nafeesa Abid, who has a 20-month-old boy.

For Disha Batra of Chhatarpur, donation emerged as a natural option after she delivered her daughter and found herself with more milk than was needed.

Initially, she froze the milk and stored it. “My milk production was good and my daughter was not using it. So, I thought, rather than wasting it, I could donate,” she told ThePrint.

“As a mother, I could feel what a mother goes through if she is incapable of feeding her child. Scientists have tried their best but still failed to copy breast milk with the exact nutrients in them,” she said.

Usually, staff from hospitals collects the milk from donors’ houses, and a sample is then tested for HIV and other viruses before it is made available. Then it is pasteurised.

“We have a screening process. It is important that the mother does not suffer from any infection,” said Dr Raghuram Mallaiah, director of neonatology at Amaara milk bank, a joint initiative of the Breast Milk Foundation and Fortis La Femme, and Delhi’s first private human milk bank.

“In our milk bank we also have a milk analyser. So we analyse the nutritional quality and calorie content of the milk. It is important to know the amount of protein, fat and other nutrients,” said Dr Mallaiah.

For Chitra and Rajesh, the sight of their infant struggling in an incubator in the neonatal intensive care unit is now just a painful memory.

“She is an energetic three-year-old now. At times I don’t even remember that she was born premature,” said Chitra.

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