The Taj Mahal has become one of the only three UNESCO Heritage Sites to have a breastfeeding room for women. In a country like India, breastfeeding has a lot of social stigma attached to it. It is often seen as disgusting or even embarrassing.
This initiative aims at removing the social stigma regarding breastfeeding and helping new mothers to get the freedom to breastfeed in public without being forced to cover-up. The main objective continues to be normalizing public breastfeeding.
According to a Times of India report, India accounts for one-fifth of neonatal deaths. Over 20 percent neonatal deaths can be prevented if the child is breastfed. Various factors come into play when the question comes to why less than 55 percent babies are breastfed in the country. Aside from poor health of the mother, lack of time and the convenience of formula milk, one of the biggest hindrances when it comes to breastfeeding is the taboo attached to it.
However, women being asked to cover-up while breastfeeding in public isn’t just exclusive to India.
There have been various instances internationally where women have been asked to exit the premises or even “take their business in the washroom” for breastfeeding in public.
However, initiatives like the one taken in the Taj Mahal, are actively working towards removing the taboo and stigma related to breastfeeding and to normalize something as simple as a mother feeding her child.
The breastfeeding room will also be introduced in other monuments including the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.
(With media inputs)
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