Fortis La Femme, BMF launch pasteurised human milk bank in Delhi-NCR

Milk donated at ‘Amaara’ Milk Bank at Fortis La Femme, will be tested, pasteurised and frozen which will be available to needy newborns

Fortis La Femme, Delhi’s hospital for women and newborns in collaboration with Breast Milk Foundation (BMF), a non-profit organization within the GNS Foundation has recently launched the first Pasteurised Human Milk Bank, ‘Amaara’ in Delhi-NCR. This non-profit centre recognises that breast milk is the best nutritional food source for infants and should be available to babies deprived of mother’s milk.
At the ‘Amaara’ Milk Bank at Fortis La Femme, milk once donated will be tested, pasteurized and frozen (for a period of six months) at the facility and available to needy newborns. It is a public milk bank and, therefore, accessible to all mothers who need it.
The initiative in line with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Millennium Development Goals of reducing Infant Mortality rate.
The Breast Milk Foundation in collaboration with Fortis La Femme’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit also endeavours to spread awareness on the concept of Human Milk Banking through educational programs amongst potential donors as well as receivers.
Dr. Ankit Srivastava, Director, BMF, in a statement said, “The sole purpose of this initiative is to facilitate high quality care to the early newborns along with its noble vision to grant charity with the assistance of GNS Foundation”.
Dedicating the centre to the public, Dr Raghuram Mallaiah, Director, Neonatology, Fortis La Femme said, “The Milk Bank is a proven solution to save the lives of the most medically fragile newborns against life-threatening illnesses, serious infections and other complications related to pre-term birth.”