New Delhi: Bollywood producer Nidhi Parmar Hiranandani, who became a mother early this year in February decided to donate her breast milk during the lockdown period. In an interview with The Better India portal, the ‘Saand Ki Aankh’ producer opened up on the initiative she took to help others.
Nidhi Parmar said, “After nursing my child, I realised 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.”
Adding more, 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.”
She talked about how she donated around 40 litres of breast milk to Surya Hospital in Khar, Mumbai. “I contacted my gynaecologist 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.”
“After my first donation, I would express milk at home, and every 15-20 days I would donate it to the hospital,” revealed Nidhi, who had donated around 40 litres since May 2020.
Her contribution during lockdown has helped the hospital revive its milk bank as this milk donation comes to the rescue of premature babies in the Neonatal intensive care unit.
