Renowned Doctors in the city came together to Pledge for Preemies at LactoClave

Calls to attention on neonatal mortality due to low breastfeeding rates

Medela India, the world’s leading global producer of breast pumps and nursing accessories, hosted their fifth edition of LactoClave on 22^nd November.  The topic for the discussion was ‘Pledge for Preemies’.

With an aim to educate new and expecting mothers on the significance of human milk, this conclave brought together Gynaecologists, Neonatologists and Lactation consultants from leading hospitals of Delhi to share facts and insights on prenatal and postnatal care of infants with the optimum intervention of human milk.

LactoClave was an interactive event comprising of a panel discussion with renowned and experienced experts like Dr. Ajay Gambhir, Former President, National Neonatology Forum of India, Dr Raghuram Mallaiah, Director Neonatology, Fortis La Femme and Dr Shivani, Gynaecologist on the theme ‘Born Too Soon: Protecting the little wonders’.

Stressing on the need for awareness on human milk, Dr Raghuram Mallaiah, Director Neonatology, Fortis La Femme said, “what is extremely crucial is the necessity to raise awareness on the importance of both neonatal and prenatal care so that problems related to neurological outcomes and to some extent with growth, does not hamper the child’s health. Good news is because of advances in neonatology the outcome for these babies has improved significantly.

LactoClave also hosted individual sessions by Dr. Saroja Balan, Neonatologist, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals on ‘Early Intervention: Feeding the Baby’s in the NICU’ which focused more on foetal nutrition and its impact on the baby. She also spoke about the intake of human milk in the first 14 days, as it protects LBW (Low Birth Weight) infants against death or NEC (Necrotizing enterocolitis), a condition primarily seen in premature infants.

Adding further on ‘Preemie care at Home’, Dr Anita Sharma, Infant and young child feeding counsellor, BPNI(India) and UNICEF WHO Doula, Child Birth Educator, Lamaze international, USA mentioned that the best advice for new mothers is Kangaroo care, which is a method of holding a baby involving skin-to-skin contact known to enhance breast milk production and more willingness to breast feed. KMC is known to regulate heart rate, breathing patterns and temperatures in preterm babies. Hence, babies under KMC experience less pain therefore less crying and establishment better sleeping pattern. It reduces the risk of infections and allows better, faster overall development of the baby shortening the length of hospital stay.

LactoClave is a unique initiative to bring renowned medical experts under one roof to discuss on multiple issues related to breastfeeding. Studies have showed that pre-term birth are #1 cause of new born deaths. Human milk helps to enhance the development of the baby’s brain and neurologic tissues, which is especially important for premature infants. Therefore, through platform like LactoClave, the idea was to spread awareness on the importance of human milk and encourage mothers to pledge and promise that the baby receives mother’s milk from the first hour.

Commenting on the need for mothers to breastfeed for providing the best nutrition to their babies during the initial years, Ms. Emilie Moulard, Managing Director, Medela India said, “The health benefits of mother’s milk are abounded and leave an imprint on the child for a lifetime. Therefore, we at Medela engage in comprehensive and consistent research on human milk as we strongly believe that it is the best suited for infants. Human milk is an extremely critical ask for a preemie and we are persistent in our efforts to encourage mothers to fulfill their responsibility of a nutrition provider with ease.”