Odisha’s 1st human milk bank comes up at Capital Hospital

Bhubaneswar: In a first of its kind initiative in the state, the Capital Hospital here has inaugurated a human milk bank at its paediatric unit.

This is the 34th Comprehensive Lactation Management Centre (CLMC) in the country. The initiative by the National Health Mission (NHM) will cater to the needs of several newborns across the state, said hospital sources.

Capital Hospital Director Dr Laxmidhar Sahu said the facility will store mother’s milk, which will be supplied to hospitals across the state, if the need arises.

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“Many mothers fail to breastfeed their newborn baby for the initial few weeks due to various reasons, including their poor health and delivery-related issues. And in such situation, the newborn suffers. This human milk bank will come as a great help for such mothers,” the official said.

Mothers, who have excess milk, can donate their milk to this bank, he added.

On the inaugural day, two mothers donated their milk to the facility. Among others, Health Director Bijay Mohapatra and hospital Deputy Superintendent Dr Dhananjay Das were present on the occasion.