WHO recommends donated human milk as a lifesaving alternative for children with no access to their own mothers’ milk. The breast milk bank that was launched at Pumwani Maternity Hospital aims to bridge the gap by providing lifesaving breast milk to these babies. Before setting up the milk bank, the Africa Population Health Research Centre conducted a feasibility study on the perception of such a facility. The findings were positive and indicated that 99 per cent of the mothers interviewed agreed that breast milk was very important for the health of newborn babies. About 80 per cent indicated they would donate their breast milk to a human milk bank, and 60 per cent said they would allow their children to be fed with the milk.

Source: The Star April 12, 2019 00:56 UTC