- Jwala Gutta donated 60 litres of breast milk in her first postpartum year to hospitals in India
- Breast milk donation is safe, screened, and crucial for infants lacking maternal milk
- Donor milk helps reduce necrotising enterocolitis and supports immunity in premature babies
Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborns. It consists of fats, carbohydrates, minerals, and proteins, providing much-needed nutrition for babies' growth. But due to various reasons, many infants don't have access to their mother's milk, especially if they are in the NICU. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is a specialised department in any hospital that takes care of premature, critically ill, and low-birth-weight newborns.
Considering this, former badminton player Jwala Gutta donated 60 litres of breast milk in the first year of her postpartum period. Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), she shared why she donated.
Jwala Gutta On Donating 60 Litres Of Breast Milk In First Postpartum Year
The sportswoman shared that in the first year of her postpartum, she donated 60 litres of breast milk to the government hospitals in Chennai and Hyderabad. Why did she do it?
"Just 100ml of donor milk can feed a tiny 1kg baby for several days. This donation could potentially support dozens of infants in the NICU," she shared in her post.
The athlete mentioned, "Donating is safe, screened, and desperately needed."
Further explaining her cause, she shared that many babies in the NICU don't have immediate access to their mother's milk. This could be due to medical complications or other reasons. In such cases, breast milk donated by another woman can provide an infant with nutrition and help them build immunity in the first few critical days, allowing them to safely leave the NICU and go home with their birth parents.
"It serves as a bridge for mothers whose milk may be delayed due to stress, illness, malnutrition, and premature birth," she added.
"Donor human milk is proven to significantly reduce the incidence of necrotising enterocolitis (a life-threatening gut condition) in premature infants," she concluded.
Benefits Of Donor Human Milk
According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine by The BMJ, pasteurised donor milk can be used to supplement the mother's milk, helping meet an infant's nutritional needs. It can help reduce the risk of a baby developing sepsis if 10ml/kg is consumed for the first 28 days of life.
Among premature infants, it has been shown to reduce the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (a lung complication). They also require nearly three fewer days of ventilator support compared to when they are given formula.
The Human Milk Bank Association of India collects, screens, tests, and stores donor milk collected from healthy lactating mothers. You can either donate through this national network or seek guidance from a health expert.