Mother's milk bank opens in Jaipur

A multi-specialty private hospital here on Thursday announced the opening of a mother's milk bank in association with a Jaipur-based voluntary organisation.

Mahatma Gandhi Hospital launched the milk bank in association with Inaya Foundation.

"We had soft-launched operations of the Amrit, mother's milk bank, from the first week of February. Till April 10, we have collected over 25,000 ml of milk donated by 74 mothers," Inaya Foundation secretary Nitisha Sharma said at a press conference.

Mahatma Gandhi Medical University principal G.N. Saxena said 196 units of mother's milk have been provided to newborns at the hospital till April 10.

This is the third such mother's milk bank in Rajasthan.

The first bank was inaugurated at a government hospital in Udaipur, some 400 km from Jaipur, in April 2013. Similar banks are situated in Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Surat, and Kolkata.

Sharma said that through breast-feeding and donated mother's milk, the infant mortality rate can be reduced by 22 percent.

Before any nursing mother donates milk, she has to go through a blood test and her milk is also tested to rule out any bacteria, she said.