Soon, breastfeeding milk banks in the country will come under the Government scanner with the Union Health Ministry in the process of developing and regulating operations of these centres to ensure safety of the beneficiaries ie newly born babies.
The breastfeeding milk banks or human milk banks play an important role in providing breast milk to new babies of mothers who cannot provide their babies with adequate breast milk. It is a tool by which the Government is planning to reduce infant mortality rate (IMR) in India as is done by Brazil.
Breast milk has all the ideal nutrients required for the baby to grow. Breast milk contains antibodies that help babies fight bacteria and viruses. Furthermore, breastfeeding significantly affects baby’s brain development in the long term.
However, presently, there are no guidelines and regulations for the human milk banks in the country from the Government side, though paediatrics and neonatologists have jointly framed a few.
Dr Ajay Khera, deputy commissioner for child health in the Ministry said that human milk banks will be called as lactation management centres and that human milk banking will be a part of an overall breastfeeding strategy. “The National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC) of the Ministry has been asked to frame the guidelines,” he added.
In fact, Union Health Minister Ashwani Kumar Choubey on Tuesday told the reporters that the Government is aiming to bring down the IMR from current 23 to 12 by 2025. Sharing the details of his recent visit to the meetings of Health Ministers of BRICS nations in Brazil he said that among five agendas that were discussed was on breastfeeding awareness with setting up breast milk banks being one of them.
Currently, Brazil has the largest network of human milk banks in the world (more than 200), followed by South America, Spain, Portugal etc.
Khera added that guidelines are being formulated on the basis of the success of Brazil in the sector.
In India, the sector is still in the nascent phase with around 40 human milk banks across the States. Rajasthan (13), Maharashtra (12) and Tamil Nadu (10) are major contributors in the milk bank industry, with Chennai following close behind.
As number of banks is likely to increase in near future, guidelines will ensure safety and quality. For instance, donated milk should not be adulterated or contaminated and harmful for the recipient. Human milk may be contaminated with bacteria or even viruses like HIV. Moreover, there is fear of exploitation of poor woman who can be lured to donate milk in lieu of money, said Khera.
Arun Gupta, paediatrician and founder of the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BfPNI) welcomed the government’s decision to regulate and promote these banks as it will “discourage the use of infant formula, which is not as nutritious as human breast-milk.”
However, he cautioned that human milk bank should not be a profit-making industry. Commercial milk banking is open to potential risks since companies can make profits from adulterating donor milk,
India has the highest number of preterm births — 3.5 million are preterm and 7.5 million are low birth weight-in the world and breastfeeding rates are sub-optimal, just 60 per cent due to reasons such as mother’s sickness, separation, or temporary lactation issues.
According to UNICEF, India ranks the lowest in breastfeeding practices among South Asian countries: only 25 per cent of the newborns in India were breastfed within an hour of birth, and less than half of the children (46 per cent) under six months of age are exclusively breastfed.