Breastmilk Donation: A Need For Orphans In The Pandemic
Prakash Kumar Dubey
Since 2020 when lockdown came into force and still the impact of the corona is vicious we have seen collapsed health systems, oxygen, medicine, bed shortage, and much more. But in the middle of all these, there was also a major issue of milk shortage and that too of breastmilk. Many mothers left behind their babies whose survival was just the mother’s milk. They were not just only orphaned but also became a victim of the hunger crisis.
Representational Image. Photo credit: Tom Furtwangler, PATH
When a mother is lactating then at that time she produces milk in large amounts which is more than what is required for her baby and that extra milk leftover gets reabsorbed after 3-4 days and which in turn is a wastage. Also, I came to know that many women use their extra milk for giving baths to their babies and some for cleaning the dirt on their body which is a complete wastage. That amount of milk can be a lifesaver for so many orphans.
A lactating mother producing enough milk can pump their leftover milk and store it in a freezer before donation so that it must not get contaminated. An amount of milk donation from even one mother will be a boon for many orphans so just imagine if more and more mothers will join hands how many orphans can get a new life.
I will also request the male and other family members to join and support the woman of their family in this much-needed donation as she is going to act as a sanjeevni to many tiny victims of the corona.
I will also urge experts and the government to provide knowledge regarding different aspects of breastmilk and create awareness regarding donating milk and its benefits in society.
See many of us think of breastmilk as food for our child but it’s not only food it’s a symbol of motherhood, selfless bonding of any child and mother. Just like cows, milk is not only for their calf but even humans get nutrition and benefits from it so why not human milk can be a game-changer for such orphans kids amidst the pandemic? If an animal can show humanity by allowing her milk for social welfare why not a human can show that much of humanity that too free of cost.
I recently came to know about a woman who is basically a producer that she has started a milk donation bank after she gave birth to her baby and she realized about orphan victims and then she first donated her own milk and urged many to donate milk. In India, the main issue is we don’t talk about such topics openly, we don’t have much knowledge about such topics and that is the reason we feel shy about what society will say, what will be my image, etc. Lastly, we are having a strong weapon to save lives but we are ashamed of using it as our minds are conditioned on the wrong track.
