Establish breast milk bank for lactating mothers
Stakeholders at a health forum have proposed the establishment of a breast milk bank at health facilities to support exclusive breastfeeding.
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The initiative, if implemented will help promote the advocacy on breastfeeding among nursing mothers exclusively for a period of six months.
This will also benefit lactating mothers who, based on health grounds or other factors cannot exclusively breastfeed their babies for the recommended period.
A professor at the School of Medical Sciences at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof Akua Plange-Rhule said this during a maiden Lactation Conference organised for health practitioners by HopeXchange Medical Centre in Kumasi.
The three-day conference educated the health workers on topics such as understanding the anatomy and physiology of breast milk and breastfeeding and the latest research on breastfeeding and its benefit.
Breast milk bank
Throwing more light on the breast milk bank initiative, Professor Plange-Rhule explained that exclusive breastfeeding among nursing mothers was essential and it was necessary to institute measures to promote and support the advocacy.
Describing how the breast milk bank would operate, Professor Plange-Rhule said the operation would be similar to that of the blood bank where clients would walk in, purchase blood to save a relative.
“This milk bank will also provide milk for mothers at a cost to breastfeed their infant if there are situations that prevent breastfeeding,” she said.
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She mentioned the Paediatric Society of Ghana and other health bodies that were interested in the initiative adding “there are conversations, studies and research works going on, on the best way to operate and lot of things have to be put in place to make sure of the acceptability”.
She called for more stakeholder engagement as well as government support for the initiative to be implemented to support and encourage exclusive breastfeeding among nursing mothers.
Some African countries including South Africa, according Prof Plange-Rhule were operating the breast milk bank system.
She was optimistic the initiative was possible in Ghana as well.
Purpose
Member of HopeXchange Reseaech Team, Dr Sarah Owusu Bempah explained the purpose of the conference was to educate health workers to explore and advance in the breastfeeding awareness creation at their various facilities.
She was hopeful the health practitioner at the end of the the forum adopt best practices that would encourage more nursing mother to embrace the exclusive breastfeeding to improve child survival rate in the country.