NEOLACTA PHBM POWDER: A NEW INNOVATION IN HUMAN MILK NUTRITION FOR BABIES

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data indicates that only 54.9 per cent of children are exclusively breastfed, and the average period of exclusive breastfeeding is only 2.9 months.

WHO recommends that all infants should receive exclusive breast milk for the first 6 months of life. Human milk is a unique source of prebiotics and passive immunity for a baby. In the absence of breastfeeding, these benefits can still be acquired through donor human milk. WHO recommends pasteurised donor human milk as the best choice of feed in the absence of mother’s own milk.

In an effort to support the usage of human milk for babies, NeoLacta Lifesciences has introduced Pasteurised Human Breast Milk (PHBM) powder it is a powdered form of screened and pasteurised donor human milk that provides essential nutrients from100 per cent Human Milk when mother’s own milk isn’t available.

PHBM powder contains zero synthetic additives and can be reconstituted with recommended quantity of drinking water. The shelf-stable formulation of PHBM powder ensures storage at room temperature and avoids hassles of cold chain maintenance.

Dr Vikram Reddy, chief scientific officer, NeoLacta Lifesciences, informed that PHBM powder has been developed to meet the nutritional needs as well as support the physical and cognitive development of babies. It can be very useful for breastfeeding mothers in situations like inadequate lactation, lactation failure, maternal illness, cow’s milk protein allergy etc., as this unique formulation will help parents ensure that the baby is on a 100 per cent human milk diet.

Babies who are on 100 percent Human Milk Diet for the first 6 months have fewer ear infections, respiratory illnesses, and bouts of diarrhoea. They also have fewer hospitalizations and trips to the doctor. Human Milk nutrition has also been linked to higher IQ scores in later childhood in some studies, informed Dr Geetika Gangwani, Lactation Consultant.

We want to ensure that parents and clinicians are made aware of the availability of this innovative product so that babies receive the right choice of nutrition from birth, added Dr Vikram Reddy.

NeoLacta is the 1st and only company in India and Asia to have developed a state-of-the-art human milk processing facility with ISO 22000:2018 certification, GMP compliant and FSSAI approved. This helps caregivers and decision-makers adhere to a 100 per cent human milk diet without having to rely on bovine milk-based products, which also contain multiple synthetic additives.

NeoLacta is the only human milk facility in India to have ISO clean rooms, HACCP certified processes, onsite R&D, chemical and microbial labs and walk-in freezers, which distinguishes NeoLacta from any standard human milk bank. Moreover, the proprietary technologies used for processing makes India the 2nd nation globally after US to have a facility of this kind.

Continuing the legacy of supporting parents and clinicians by providing 100 percent human milk-based neonatal products, operations have been recently launched in the United Kingdom under the banner of NeoKare Nutrition. The founders of both the organisations, NeoLacta and NeoKare, have an extensive background in human milk technology since they were instrumental in establishing the 1st milk bank in Australia at KEM, Perth, WA in 2000.