ILOILO City – The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) approved on first reading a proposed ordinance establishing a human milk bank to support women and children in need of breast milk.
The proponent, Councilor Candice Magdalane Tupas, said having a milk bank “would encourage mothers to donate their breast milk.”
“This will be used by sickly, neonate (newborn) in the ICU (intensive care unit). If we have a pasteurization machine, we can share it and refer it to other hospitals. And we can even give milk to other provinces,” said Tupas, a doctor by profession.
Sharing milk is not a new practice, said Tupas. It is done voluntarily and the breast milk bank will ensure that the milk is disease- and virus-free.
The objective for having such bank is “to make breast milk the primary source of nutrition of children up to two years,” said Tupas.
The human milk bank may either be set up at the West Visayas Medical Center or at the La Paz Maternity Health Center.
Tupas said children need not drink water up to six months of age if they are breastfed.
Children are less prone to diseases if they take breast milk, she added.
For mothers, a study showed breastfeeding for two years leads to less risk of getting breast cancer.
It will also increase baby and maternal bond, which is very important nowadays, Tupas said.
“If we promote baby and maternal bond as early as the neonatal age, then we have no problem with our children in the future,” she added.
Breastfeeding is the normal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. Virtually all mothers can breastfeed, according to the World Health Organziation (WHO), provided they have accurate information, and the support of their family, the health care system and society at large.
Colostrum, the yellowish, sticky breast milk produced at the end of pregnancy, is recommended by WHO as the perfect food for the newborn, and feeding should be initiated within the first hour after birth.
Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to six months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond.
Councilor Eduardo Peñaredondo said there was no reason for them not to pass the “very noble ordinance.”
“We hope to implement it as soon as possible because this is very important. There is no substitute for human milk than anything else,” he said.
The proposal also got the support of Councilor Lyndon Acap who authored an ordinance establishing lactation stations in workplaces in Iloilo City.
Once Tupas’ proposed ordinance is approved, Iloilo City will become the first human milk bank in Western Visayas. (PNA)
