Physical Health Uganda Project #45267

Centre of excellence for newborn care in Uganda

by Born on the Edge

Project Report | Oct 15, 2021
One of the first human milk banks in east Africa

By Adam Hewitt Smith | Trustee, Born on the Edge

“I am Kakai and I gave birth to my twins at only 28 weeks. I was suffering from complicated malaria, which had caused me to go into labour early. I was really sick and still unconscious after delivering. When I woke up, they told me that I had given birth to twins, but one died immediately after delivery. One was alive and had been taken to neonatal unit.

When I was strong enough, I went to the neonatal unit where they showed me a very small baby on a breathing machine (CPAP). On seeing my baby, I couldn't begin to imagine that he would survive. He looked so very small and he was unable to breathe properly on his own.

I was told to be tying my baby on my chest in kangaroo care for most of the time to keep him warm. I found it very difficult to do kangaroo at the beginning but it got easier. I was asked to begin expressing my breast milk and give it by a feeding tube into his stomach. Later, when he was stronger, I was able to begin feeding him with a cup and spoon. I was worried at the beginning but I had to do it because he was too small to breastfeed. With time, expressing became easier and I happily watched as my baby began to add weight every day.

I want to thank the nurses and doctors in neonatal for the good work and dedication that saved my baby. I have been discharged from the ward and although I am coming for weekly reviews, I am now home happily looking after my three children.”

Not all babies can get enough of their mother’s own milk, and many newborn babies who are born too sick or too small will only survive and thrive if they receive human breastmilk.

Uganda doesn’t yet have a human milk bank to pasteurise breastmilk, so for now milk donors are carefully selected and screened to ensure the milk is safe as possible for our babies

The dream is to create one of the first Human Milk Banks in east Africa. The next step is to purchase a milk pasteuriser designed for our setting (piAstra). This will remove any other viruses and most bacteria making the donor human milk even safer.

Our dream is to run our Human Milk Bank from our new neonatal unit but we need your help to make this dream a reality. Keep donating as we continue to fundraise towards our goal.

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