COIMBATORE: A total of 5,511 babies have benefited so far this year through the breast milk bank which is functioning at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) since 2015. Breast milk donated by lactating women is preserved at the facility and given to babies in need at the neonatal unit of the CMCH.
Thanks to regular awareness campaigns by the hospital, the number of breast milk donors and beneficiaries is increasing significantly every year. Around 2,355 women donated breast milk from January to August this year. This benefitted a total of 5,511 babies.
CMCH Dean Dr A Nirmala said the breast milk bank is doing well and many women donate on a daily basis.
“Infants admitted for treatment in serious conditions, babies born with low weight, babies of women who are unable to breastfeed, and babies of women who are undergoing treatment are given breast milk through the bank,” Nirmala said.
Even babies delivered in private hospitals and found to have a shortage of mother’s milk are also being fed milk from our bank, she added.