Makati to have breast milk bank

MANILA, Philippines—The Makati government is to open its own breast milk bank soon.

According to city health officer Dr. Ma. Lourdes Salud, the setting up of a breast milk bank is among the priorities of Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr., who envisions Makati as the very first city in the country to have such facility run by the government.

On Wednesday, the city health department spearheaded the local government’s first Mother’s Milk Letting Activity as part of its celebration of National Breastfeeding Month.

Salud said the project was also meant to commemorate the first death anniversary of Kennely Ann Lacia-Binay, wife of Mayor Binay, who died a year ago Wednesday due to complications of childbirth.

“This pioneering initiative has been set for Aug. 11 as our way of paying tribute to the memory of the late wife of Mayor Binay. Ken-Ken, as she was fondly called, had breast-fed all her three older children,” Salud said.

Salud said that some 220 breast-feeding mothers from five barangays who passed the criteria of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) participated in the event as volunteer milk donors.

The mother’s milk produced from the activity will be donated to PCMC, she said, adding that they intend to regularly hold the activity as part of its preparations for the setting up of the city’s own breast milk bank.

“The mayor feels strongly about promoting the practice of breast-feeding among mothers because he witnessed first-hand the wonders of mother’s milk. His fourth and youngest child was a preterm and severely underweight newborn, but with regular feeding of breast milk, she has survived and is, in fact, turning one year old today,” Salud said.

She stressed that mother’s milk is the first and best immunization of newborns against infection, especially premature and underweight babies who are vulnerable to all kinds of infection.

“Mayor Binay himself requested that we organize this milk letting activity to highlight the importance of breast-feeding and the value of breast milk to children, as his family’s way of showing their support for the breast-feeding advocacy,” she added.

Makati has been recognized by the World Health Organization and the Department of Health for successfully piloting the concept of community-based breast-feeding advocacy in the country a few years ago. To date, its fully functional community-based breast feeding program covers 25 of its barangays.

Under the program, women volunteers are trained by city and barangay health workers to enable them to provide peer counseling to new mothers in the community. After their training, they become part of breast-feeding support groups that give guidance and inspiration to breastfeeding mothers. –Tina Santos,Philippine Daily Inquirer