Nepal to operate mobile van for collecting surplus breast milk from mothers

Nepal's Ministry of Health and Food Safety is introducing a mobile van service to collect surplus human breast milk from mothers in the Kathmandu valley, addressing a critical shortage in maternity and children’s hospitals. The specialized vehicle, funded by UNICEF, will operate within two months, ensuring safe transport of expressed milk under cold-chain conditions to the milk bank at Paropakar Maternity and Women’s Hospital.

“

Demand for human milk for newborns is much higher than the collection.

Officials highlight that the demand for human milk significantly outstrips supply. Lila Bikram Thapa, chief of the Nutrition Section at the Family Welfare Division, stated, "Demand for human milk for newborns is much higher than the collection." He added that the mobile unit concept aims to overcome the impracticality of mothers traveling long distances to donate.

“

Since it is impractical for new mothers to travel a long distance to the hospital to donate milk, we have introduced the concept of a human milk bank.

The Thapathali hospital has been running a human milk bank since August 2022 with UN agency support. Dr. Sailendra Bir Karmacharya, a senior consultant pediatrician, explained that vulnerable infants, those whose mothers are deceased, ill, unable to produce milk, or critically ill newborns in intensive care, require this supplement. The bank currently prioritizes infants with low birth weight and those in critical condition due to the high demand and limited collection.

“

Vulnerable infants, whose mothers are sick or died after giving birth or their breasts do not yield milk or critically ill newborns in neonatal intensive care units, premature babies with low birth weights need breast milk supplement.

Approximately 300 infants are admitted to the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit monthly, many needing breast milk. Other valley hospitals also rely on the bank. Doctors note that while mothers of ailing babies in ICUs and those with excess supply are primary donors, the limited hospital stay for most mothers hinders collection. "As breast milk cannot be manufactured, some new mothers have to donate it, and new mothers with surplus breast milk cannot visit the hospital for donation," Karmacharya said.

“

Since demand is excessively high and collection is low, we have been prioritising the infants as per the low weight and those critically ill to provide breast milk.