Experts urge Pune Municipal Corporation to have human milk storage at hospital, Health News, ET HealthWorld

Pune: The PMC is set to open a paediatric speciality wing at Yerawada’s Rajiv Gandhi Hospital, complete with a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). But it has made no provision for a human milk bank at the hospital, which experts said is an unwise move.

Considering most babies in the NICU are preterm and would need nutritional support for recovery, they advocated in favour of it.
Officials from the PMC said it’s not mandatory for hospitals to have a milk bank, but the experts reasoned that quick access to a small collection, at least, can save lives.

The hospital was first set up as a paediatric Covid unit in January 2021, when warnings emerged a third wave would impact children the most. Luckily, that never happened and authorities later turned the unit into PMC’s first ever dedicated hospital for infants.

The new hospital now has 12 NICU beds. Officials said plans are also on for three ventilator-supported beds, thanks to an oxygen plant.

A senior doctor at the hospital said: “We’ll also have a 22-bed paediatric ICU, a gynecology department and a maternity ward. But as of now, there’s no provision for a human milk bank.”

Dr Ashish Bharti, head of the PMC’s health department, said: “As per guidelines from the National Medical Commission, it’s only mandatory for medical colleges to have a human milk bank. Hospitals are not required to have such a facility.”

Dr Parag Gaikwad, president of Indian Association of Pediatricians, Pune chapter, said it’s vital a NICU has a human milk bank.

He said: “It’s a life-saving component for a baby. Yes, guidelines make these banks compulsory only for medical colleges, but major hospitals with paediatric ICUs do have their own banks or source the milk from NGOs or social groups in the city.”

Dr Gaikwad added that the milk bank at Sassoon hospital is always in high demand. “So it’s ideal the PMC sets up its own bank. If that’s not possible, it could at least have a storage unit to ensure babies get the milk,” he said.