Quality maternal care guarantees future generation!
Nairobi Governor Hon Mike Sonko is set to launch Sh.65 million Human Milk Bank (HMB) on Friday at Pumwani Maternity hospital, Nairobi.
The bank will typically pool and mix donations from three to five mothers at once and then store it up to eight months.
The milk is then poured into glass bottles and pasteurized to eliminate any potential bacteria.
The project is aimed to help children who have lost their biological mothers, adopted parents, destitute children and children who can not breastfeed under different circumstances.
Donating breast milk can be traced back to the practice of wet nursing. Milk banking declined with the rise in HIV epidemic due to the need for stringent screening, which increased the cost of operating milk banks.
Improved screening methods and standardization of procedure have made donated milk a viable alternative to mother’s breast milk.
Newborn babies, according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, are supposed to be breastfeed exclusively for the first six months as the mothers milk has enough and vital nutrients for growth and development of various body organs including the brain.
The challenge will be mobilizing women to donate milk in a society where women believe in breastfeeding only their biological babies.