BENGALURU: India has the highest number of pre-term babies, according to the 2010 data from the World Health Organisation. Around 35,19,100 babies are born premature every year in India — thrice the number in China, which stands at 11,72,300. To reduce the premature mortality rate, Bengaluru-based Neolacta Life Sciences makes two mother’s milk-based products.
“The rate of prematurity is increasing across the world because of various factors like change in lifestyle, having babies at a later stage in life, and even environmental changes. The reason we chose to set up our plant in India is we want to be committed to the intact survival of pre-mature babies here,” says Saurabh Aggarwal, MD, Neolacta Life Sciences. Neolacta products are for babies in the NICU.
Saving pre-term babies
A majority of mothers who have pre-term babies (a baby born before 37 weeks) struggle with insufficient or no lactation. As a result, the babies suffer from sepsis, NEC (necrotising enterocolitis) or pneumonia. “Five to 10 per cent of the babies with NEC are given antibiotics, 50 per cent have to undergo surgery, and 50 per cent of those babies do not make it,” he says. Hence, to save the babies, it is necessary to administer 100 per cent mother’s-milk based products. “Usually, most of them introduce bovine-based substitutes, that contain risk factors. As the babies’ gut is not fully developed, bovine products can cause short and long-term problems,” he shares.
After collecting data over 18 months, and testing 10,000+ mothers, Neolacta noted that Indian mothers have less calorie count than the western mothers and that is one of the primary reasons for premature births. “Hence, we developed the 70 Calorie. Typically, mother’s milk has 55 calories, but a pre-term baby needs more. So, we extract the cream from a large pool of mother’s milk and add it to a smaller quantity to prepare this product. It has around 70 calories and this is given to the babies in NICU as per requirement,” explains Saurabh. The other product, a fortifier, ensures that the baby gets all the protein that it needs.
Screening donors
Neolacta has tied up with a few private hospitals in the south. They counsel families explaining the benefits of donating mother’s milk. “Once the mothers passes all the tests, they are selected as donors. In rural areas, NGOs help the team get donor mothers,” he says. Once the mothers are enrolled, Neolacta gives them sterilised bottles to express themselves.
“We encourage people to express naturally and not using pumps,” he says. It is then collected and stored cold and transferred to the labs where the milk is stored in -20 degrees celsius.“We then send it for microbiological testing in the labs to rule out any kind of bacteria present in it. If we detect anything, that bottle is discarded. The pure ones are processed and pasteurised and sent for analysis,” he explains. They have had a few hundred of donors so far and becoming a donor mother is voluntary.
(The reporter was invited for a lab tour by Neolacta)
only south
Neolacta is currently focussing on educating mothers and hospitals about the need for mother’s milk-based products. “The quantity that we receive now is just about enough for three states. Most doctors are open to it as they know the importance of an exclusive mother’s milk-based diet,” Aggarwal says. As demand grows, they will branch out to other states too.