Christina, a call center agent, couldn’t help but be in awe at the sight of her cute 3-month old daughter Angela. But her joy is always tempered by the reality that Angela is severely underweight. Born with an imperforate anus which requires her to be on nasogastric tube and colostomy bag, Angela barely weighs 3.3 kilos. Her pediatrician prescribed breast milk for her.
Unfortunately, despite taking advantage of the law’s mandatory 40-minute breast feeding period at work, Christina could not express sufficient breast milk for Angela’s nutritional needs. Desperate for a remedy, she and husband Anderson inquired for possible solution at the barangay health center. The health center referred them to the Taguig City breast feeding station. At the breast feeding station, they were supplied with breast milk donated by other mothers. In just a span of one month, Angela’s weight increased by a kilogram.
Most nursing mothers may not realize it but donating breast milk can save the lives of other newborn babies. Infants who are born premature or confined at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit are usually deprived of breastmilk either because their mothers are ill or have poor breastmilk supply. The donation of breastmilk by other women can help these infants survive the ordeal.
For these reasons, the Taguig City Human Milk Bank (TCHMB) was launched on December 7, 2015.The TCHMB’s mission is to ensure that every needy infant has access to safe human milk 24/7. The city allocated Php12 million for this endeavor, and became just the third LGU in Metro Manila to operate such a facility. This latest program confirms the status of TPDH being a “Mother Baby Friendly Hospital and Mother Baby Friendly Workplace”, as certified by the Department of Health in September 2015
The Taguig City government is initiating a vigorous campaign to encourage nursing women to donate breast milk at TCHMB which is located at the 4th floor of Taguig-Pateros District Hospital. Following the celebration of the World Human Milk Donation Day on May 19, 2016, the Taguig City government continued the aggressive implementation of the Executive Order 51 through a series of Milk Letting activities and recruitment of breastmilk donors throughout the city.
The milk donation campaign is off to a solid start. From December 2015 to May 2016, the TCHMB has collected 30 liters of human milk which came from 475 generous donors. The milk donations have so far benefited 50 babies, including Angela.
Aside from helping the lives of other babies, donating human milk is also beneficial to the overall health and well-being of the donor. Studies show that the more a mother extracts milk on a regular basis, the more she would produce thus debunking the myth that mothers can run dry of milk in their bodies. Studies also suggest that women who breastfeed are less prone to breast and ovarian cancer. But for some donors, giving human milk to save other babies is simply an act of charity which must be cultivated and emulated.
To get more information and updates, you can contact TCHMB at phone numbers 838-3485/ 0922-4910048 or like its Facebook account “Taguig City Human Milk Bank.”
Written by Ms. Joann O. Espiritu, Nutritionist-Dietitian II, Taguig City
Ms. Espiritu is a member of the NCR Nutrition Writers’ Guild and City/District Nutrition Program Coordinators of Metro Manila Association, Inc.
