Nidhi Parmar Hiranandani, a Mumbai-based film producer donated 40 liters of breast milk during the lockdown. The move has saved many small lives in the past few months.
The producer explains the trigger
The 41-year-old, who was last associated with the film Saand Ki Aankh, said: “After nursing my child, I realized that I still had a lot of milk leftover. I had read on the internet that breast milk does have a shelf life of three to four months if properly stored in a refrigerator.”
She then started storing breast milk in a refrigerator, but soon, her freezer started filling up with it. Then, she said: “The internet suggested making face packs out of it. Some of my friends said they bathe their babies with it or even use it to scrub their feet. Since I thought this was a cruel waste of milk, and I did not want to give it to salons, I began researching breast milk donation.”
Nidhi then started donating breast milk
She got to know about the Surya Hospital in Mumbai which had an operational breast-milk bank. However, due to the lockdown, the donations were less. She said: “I contacted my gynecologist at Women’s Hospital, Bandra, who suggested I donate the milk to Surya Hospital. Up until that point, I had about 20 packets of 150 ml each in my fridge, but the thought of getting out to donate during the lockdown was concerning, for I now had a baby at home. But the hospital was very forthcoming and ensured a zero-contact pick-up from my doorstep.”
The doctor at the hospital said: “We generally encourage mothers, who have not delivered their babies with us, to drop off their milk donations at the hospital. But even though we were also concerned for our staff when the pandemic hit we offered to pick up these donations, ensuring zero-contact.”
Nidhi concluded, saying: “After my first donation, I would express milk at home, and every 15-20 days I would donate it to the hospital.” So far, she has donated close to 40 liters of breast milk.
Source: The Better India
