Breast milk provides new born children with all the essential nutrients needed for growth and development and has protective effect against risk of illnesses such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and other chronic conditions such as asthma, allergies, childhood obesity, diabetes and heart diseases in adult life. Access to breast milk for sick newborns admitted in intensive care units plays a lifesaving role by helping babies receive benefits of early initiation and exclusive feeding of breast milk. It has a preventive effect on prematurity-related morbidities such as late-onset sepsis, broncho-pulmonary dysplasia, necrotizing enterocolitis and retinopathy. 

The Government of India has established Comprehensive Lactation Management Centres (CLMC) to ensure availability of safe, pasteurized Donor Human Milk and Lactation Management Unit (LMU) for facilitating expression of mother’s own milk, for feeding of sick, preterm and low birth weight babies admitted in intensive care units such as Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU). As per the reports received from the States/UTs for the FY 2023-24 , 52 Comprehensive Lactation Management Centres and 50 Lactation Management Units are currently operational across the country in States/UTs.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Smt. Anupriya Patel in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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MV/AKS