Theni Government Medical College Hospital at Kandamanur pass near Andipatti has become the only facility in rural parts of the State to have a Mother’s Milk Bank.
All other centres opened in government hospitals by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday are in urban areas.
It has been equipped with processing and cold storage facilities on an outlay of Rs.10 lakh.
The milk donated by lactating mothers will be tested for bacteria, pasteurised at 65 degree Celsius and stored for three months. It will be of most benefit to pre-term children who could suckle, babies who lost their mothers during delivery, and infants whose mothers are under medical care and cannot feed immediately after delivery.
Orphaned babies will be immensely benefited as the milk will help build their immune system.
The milk can also be given to babies admitted to the intensive care unit.
The first mother’s milk bank in the State was inaugurated at Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children in Chennai in 2014.
