5 min readNew DelhiMar 4, 2025 11:18 AM IST
First published on: Mar 4, 2025 at 07:08 AM IST
Jyoti Maan, 34, lost her baby boy after nine months in the neo-natal ICU of AIIMS, Delhi, but she kept his memory alive by saving 30 new-borns. She donated nearly 25 litres of her breast milk for them even when hers could hardly have any. “I couldn’t save mine but I did so many more,” she says, her grief comforted by the hope in the mothers and babies around her.
Jyoti’s baby was born premature at week 29, weighing just 780 grams, a far cry from the normal weight of 2.5 kg. He was put on a ventilator and too fragile for milk feeds. “As I was lactating, the nurses from the AIIMS milk bank asked me if I could give it to other babies who needed it rather than waste it. Since my baby could not have mine, I agreed, only to help mothers who were either sick themselves, could not produce enough milk or were deceased,” she says.
Donor mothers like Jyoti are a lifeline for infants like five month-old R, who was born prematurely, had an intestinal surgery and couldn’t have formula milk because of the diarrhoea it caused. Worse, her mother could not produce enough breast milk that could nourish her back to health.
How the milk banks prevent neonatal deaths
The institute’s new milk bank, Payodhi, which was set up as part of the Health Ministry’s guidelines to open more lactation management centres, offers new hope for those born before 32 weeks or weigh less than 1.5 kg. Doctors and public health specialists say milk banks can play a key role in reducing neonatal deaths – in India, an estimated 5.8 lakh new-borns die within 28 days of birth. Milk banks help mothers express and store their milk for their own babies or even pasteurise it to be donated to sick babies.
The facility at AIIMS is the second breast milk bank in a public hospital in Delhi and one of around 90 such centres in the country that are giving hope to premature babies like P, who was born at 26 weeks, weighed only 600 gm and could not tolerate formula while her mother’s milk output was low. Born prematurely at 7.5 months and weighing just 1.2 kg, baby H could not be breastfed by his mother, too, because she had pulmonary hypertension — a condition where the blood pressure in the lungs is higher than normal — and had to be put on strong medication.
The breast milk bank at AIIMS
“There is an increasing need for milk banks across the country to ensure that all babies are able to go home healthy and strong,” says Dr Ramesh Agarwal, professor of neonatology, AIIMS.
Donor breast milk reduces mortality risks
At NICU, the lights are dimmed to not disturb the sick babies in their incubators. But hope shines bright as some of them lie on the chests of their parents seated on chairs. The bank has a three-room set with freezers to store the milk, a machine to disinfect the bottles, and another to pasteurise the milk. The processed milk is then given to pre-term babies.
Early initiation of breast milk — within an hour of birth — can cut down nearly 22 per cent of new-born deaths. “There is evidence to show that donor breast milk can reduce the risk of sepsis (severe blood infection) by 19 per cent as compared to formula. It has also been shown to reduce the risk of necrotising enterocolitis by 79 per cent. This is a severe infection with a mortality rate of 40%,” explains Dr Agarwal. Breast milk can lower risks of retinopathy — the biggest cause of blindness in premature infants. It also reduces feeding intolerance and vomits, reduces risk of complications and results in shorter NICU stays for infants.
To ensure regular donations to the centre, the nursing staff reach out to all mothers who produce excess milk, or like Jyoti, whose babies are either unable to consume milk or need very little because of various medical conditions. “Most donor mothers are those whose infants are admitted to the NICU for longer durations. We are trying to expand our donor pool by reaching out to mothers whose newborns have undergone surgeries as well,” says Dr Agarwal.
Why donating milk is good for a mother’s health
Donating milk benefits the mother as well. “If the mother doesn’t keep expressing frequently, her milk production might be suppressed,” Dr Agarwal says. AIIMS is also planning to reach out to employees who join duty after maternity leave. They will have the option to express milk and store it for their own babies or donate it.
There has been a change in women’s attitude towards breastfeeding. “Around 30 years ago, there were a lot of myths surrounding breast-feeding, especially its impact on the body’s appearance. But breast-feeding is one of the best ways of restoring physical appearance and shedding post-pregnancy weight,” says Dr Agarwal.
Still, the biggest changemakers are women like Jyoti. “Some mothers are reluctant, I was too. But then I got to meet the mothers and babies in need of donor milk. Every mother who has excess milk should donate it to save new-borns. That is the one satisfaction that I have now,” she says.
Donor mother Jyoti Maan at the opening of the breast milk bank. (Express photo) 
The breast milk bank at AIIMS
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