/PNA
LEGAZPI CITY — The Department of Health (DOH) regional office here said sharing of breast milk is safe for babies as long as it comes from healthy mothers.
Dr. Monrey Isaiah Mancilla, DOH Regional Immunization Program coordinator, in an interview on Tuesday said the choice to share breast milk should be made under the guidance of a medical practitioner to ensure the safety of the milk.
“Yes it is safe to share breast milk, as long as we can make sure that the other mother (donor) is free from any contagious diseases like tuberculosis. We prefer exclusive breastfeeding rather than formula milk,” he added.
Mancilla said breast milk sharing helps in cases of poor milk production by some mothers or when a mother falls ill.
He reiterated that breast milk offers a complete package of nutrients for infants below six months.
He noted that babies, who are not breastfed, have a higher chance of acquiring contagious diseases including measles.
“Ang breast milk ay may malaking tulong sa immunity ng mga sanggol, ito ay mayroon anti-bodies kontra measles kaya ang mga sanggol ay may resistance sa lahat ng sakit at ang tawag doon ay passive immunity (The breast milk is of great help for infants’ immunity. It has anti-bodies against measles that would give infants the resistance against many diseases. It’s called passive immunity),” Mancilla explained.
“The breast milk contains lots of nutrients essentials for the growth of an infant specially the colostrums — a nutrient-rich fluid produced immediately after giving birth loaded with immune, growth and tissue repair factors needed by the infant,” he said further.
“Compared to formula milks, we prefer to give and advocate breast milk since it is very economical,” Mancilla added.
Likewise, he reminded parents with babies below six months old not to take their infants out unless it’s needed, in order to protect them from communicable diseases.
