Breastfeeding of babies by young mothers is mutually beneficial and will have better impact on their health and bonding, according to C. Shanmugamurthi, nodal officer of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Virudhunagar Government Medical College hospital.
The hospital has been celebrating World Breastfeeding Week since August 1 with various programmes to create awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding among young mothers.
The first and foremost benefit of breastfeeding is the bond it could create between the mother and the infant. On the economical side, mother’s milk is the cheapest food for infants. “While it comes free of cost, infant milk powder costs anywhere between ₹2,500 to ₹3,000 per month,” Dr. Shanmugamurthi said.
Besides, mother’s milk has high nutritional value. IgA, also known as immunoglobulin, is an antibody that protects infants from complications such as diarrhoea. Besides, the chances of infants that are fed mother’s milk have lower chances of becoming obese or having diabetes.
He also explained that feeding the baby would also benefit the mothers by preventing weight gain and also act as a natural birth control mechanism. “As long as the mother feeds the baby, she would not get pregnant,” he added.
Besides, it would also prevent such mothers from getting certain types of cancer. Virudhunagar Government Medical College has a mother’s milk bank that gets around 25-30 litres of milk every month.
“Infants delivered in Government hospitals in far-off places such as Rajapalayam, Sivakasi and Aruppukottai with certain infections are brought to the neonatal intensive care unit in Virudhunagar. With health conditions of mothers not permitting them to travel to Virudhunagar during the initial days, such infants require mother’s milk. Thus, the mother’s milk bank has been helpful for such babies,” Dr. Shanmugamurthi said.
The milk is mostly sourced from mothers who are admitted to the medical college hospital for delivery. Partially, it is also sourced through an NGO. Even after several campaigns for years, women are apprehensive to feed their babies, she added.
Published – August 03, 2025 07:06 pm IST
