The world is observing breastfeeding week between August 1 and August 8 with an aim this year to normalise what is considered a tabooed practise in public.
Supporting breastfeeding in public, Dr. Anitha Arockiasamy of India Home Health Care says, “In today’s world, safeguarding from public who embarrass with nursing covers is needed and not weaning your child from its hunger during outings; you can’t expect the babies to be breastfed in unhygienic bathrooms and stairways,” she said adding, “India still needs to awaken to this cause for the sake of healthy nurturing of babies and current generation young mothers.”
Less than half of infants worldwide under six months are exclusively breastfed. Inadequate maternity leave and work pressures force new mothers to wean their children early and shift to bottle-feed. If breastfeeding were facilitated outside the home, the proportion of breastfed children would increase, the World Health Organization has said. Data from the city shows just how much a stigma it can be for new mothers.
A recent survey of some of city’s Anganwadi workers (AWW) by Sultan Rizwan Ahmad, Mohammed Abdul Taher and Chandrasekhar Addepalli published in National Journal of Community Medicine reaffirmed the stigma women feel when the need to breastfeed in public arises. The survey reported that 45% of the workers felt breastfeeding in public is embarrassing.
The survey also showed need for greater awareness about the practice of breastfeeding among healthcare providers and new mothers. It showed that only 61% of AWW surveyed believed infants should not be bottle-fed in the first six months.
Besides work-related pressures on a new mother, bottle-feeding is also prescribed by paediatricians as the mother feels the supply of breast milk is inadequate. However, according to Dr. Ramesh Dampuri of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics, only 1.5 per cent of women around the world are physiologically unable to produce adequate milk supply. “If a baby gains 20-30 grams per day and returns to its birth weight in 10-14 days after delivery, the supply is deemed adequate. Passing frequent stools, appearance of good health and five to six changes of diapers a day are all signs of adequate breast milk supply,” he said.
Every year, the list of benefits of breastfeeding for the mother and child is on the increase. Recent research from city hospitals confirms initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of birth cuts the risk of neonatal infections like early onset of neonatal sepsis. Another research from MNJ Cancer Hospital shows breastfeeding less than six months carried a two-and-half times higher risk of breast cancer. For babies, breast milk confers protection from infanthood infections and allergies. Many studies have also argued that adults breastfed as babies have higher intelligent quotient than formula-fed babies.
Rohit PS
