A team of 250 new mothers have donated around 90 litres of their breast milk so that it could be given to premature babies.
Ahmedabad: A true mother is always universal in nature. She never limits herself to her biological child.
In an exemplary display of motherhood, a 29-year-old new mother Rushina Doctor Marfatia has donated 12 litres of her breastmilk in the last three months to as many as five premature kids in ICUs.
The story is reported from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The mothers of these premature kids were too unwell to be lactating.
"Rushina's deed is priceless. Her milk served as panacea for these fragile babies weighing anywhere between 600 gm and 1.5 kg who are more prone to infections," said senior neonatologist Dr Ashish Mehta of Arpan Newborn Care Center, as reported by Times of India.
Rushina, who became a mother to baby Viaan on September 20, says she realized she expressed more milk than her boy could feed on.
"When I wondered if I could donate the milk for some sick or needy baby, my father rummaged through hospitals and found this bank. Apart from exclusively breast-feeding my son, I started donating my milk and do not plan to stop anytime soon," says Rushina, a former event manager who now teaches event management at a private college. She believes the children are healthiest when breast-fed for a long time.
Interestingly, Rushina is one of nearly 250 mothers who donated their milk to Arpan MOM Bank. It has so far got nearly 90 litres of mother's milk in donations which roughly translates to 600 milk feeds of 150-ml each.
Doctors say that mother’s milk is a godsend in fighting infections and is also very easily digestible.
Poonam, a mother of twin boys born premature at 29 weeks weighing 900 gms and 1.3 kg respectively, is one such mother whose boys benefited from donated milk. "Since I delivered prematurely, there was not enough milk for both boys. The donated milk has helped my boys recuperate much better," said Poonam, tears welling in her eyes, as reported by Times of India.
Such acts of benevolence certainly prove there is still humanity left in the world.
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.