Breast Milk Bank

Breast Milk Bank in GH Ernakulam was started in the year February 2021.It was a project initiated by Rotary Club of Cochin Global. WHO and UNICEF state that the use of human milk from other sources should be the first alternative when it is not possible for the mother to breastfeed.

  • Breastfeeding is the best method of infant feeding- tailor-made and uniquely suited to the human infant.
  • All mothers should be encouraged to breast-feed their infants.
  • When a mother is unable to feed her infant directly, her breastmilk should be expressed and fed to the infant.
  • If mother’s own milk is unavailable or insufficient, the next best option is to use Pasteurized Donor Human Milk (PDHM).

RECIPIENTS

  • Priority for preterm babies and sick babies, babies of mothers with postpartum illnesses, and babies whose mothers have lactation failure, till their milk output improves
  • Absent or insufficient lactation – multiple births
  • For babies of non-lactating mothers, who adopt neonates
  • Abandoned neonates and sick neonates.
  • Infant at health risk from breastmilk of the biological mother.

DONORS

The donor population is formed by healthy lactating mothers with healthy babies, who are voluntarily willing to give their extra breastmilk for other babies without compromising the nutritional needs of their own baby.

 Can include

  • Mothers attending well baby clinics
  • Mothers whose babies are in NICU
  • Those who have lost their babies but are willing to donate their milk
  • Lactating working staff in the hospital
  • Motivated mothers from the community.
  • Donors are not paid for their donations.

Who cannot donate?

  • Uses illegal drugs, tobacco products or nicotine replacement therapy
  • Regularly takes more than two ounces of alcohol
  • Positive for HIV, Hep B or C or syphilis
  • Is herself or has a sexual partner suffering from HBV, HIV, HCV and venereal diseases OR has high risk behavior
  • Has received organ transplant, any blood transfusion/blood product within the prior 12 months
  • Is taking radioactive drugs or mega doses of vitamins
  • Has mastitis; or fungal infection, active HSV or VZV infections in the mammary or thoracic region

EQUIPMENTS

  • Pasteurizer/Shaker-water bath
  • Deep freezer
  • Breastmilk pumps
  • Containers
  • Refrigerator
  • Generator/Uninterrupted power supply
  • Milk analyzer

Breastmilk pumps

  • Hospital grade electric pumps are preferred.
  • Manually operated breastmilk pumps designed to operate more physiologically by simulating the infant’s compressive action on the areola during breastfeeding can be used with lower cost implications
  • Breast pumps can be a source of infection and hence they should be cleaned properly
  • They can be reused with chemical disinfection/sterilization.

COLLECTION OF BREASTMILK

  • Proper counselling, checking suitability for donation, getting written informed consent, history taking, physical examination and sampling for laboratory tests
  • Breastmilk is collected by trained staff with hygienic precautions, after method of breastmilk expression is chosen by the donor
  • Home collection of breastmilk is better avoided at present
  • There is no rationale in discarding foremilk.
  • Drip milk collected is not recommended for banking.
  • For sick or preterm babies, it is advisable to use a new container for each pumping.
  • No growth is acceptable in post-pasteurization microbiology cultures
  • Babies whose mother died in the immediate postpartum period

CONTAINERS

  • Single use hard plastic containers of polycarbonates, pyrex or propylene are used across the world.
  • In Indian experience, wide-mouthed stainless steel containers with tight fitting/ screwed caps are equally effective
  • Polythene milk bags are not suitable

DISBURSAL

  • Frozen PDHM should be thawed by either defrosting the milk rapidly in a water bath at a temperature not exceeding 37 °C, or under running lukewarm water taking care that the cap of the container does not come in contact with the water as it is likely to get contaminated
  • While bringing to room temperature, it should be gently agitated to make a homogenous mixture before use

Should be used preferably within 3 hours to prevent contamination.

Breast Milk Bank