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Fall in Breastfeeding in India is Real, But What is Its Impact?

Only 44 percent of women are able to breastfeed their infants within one hour of their delivery.

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Fit
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(World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated from 1st-7th August every year to encourage new mothers to breastfeed their children and increase awareness about the importance of breastfeeding. FIT is republishing this story from the archives.)

The era of posthumanism is shaped by test tube babies, cyborgs and the pregnant man. Recently, Donald Trump, the US President, tweeted that women should have the option of formula to tackle malnutrition and poverty.

This is surprising because all over the world, there is a massive campaign for breastfeeding and the tweet clearly shows Trump’s stance. Though Trump’s tweet is being criticised closer home in India where the breastfeeding rates are quite shocking.

As C-section deliveries continue to rise, the number of children being breastfed continue to fall in the country. As per a report prepared by the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) and Public Health Resource Network (PHRN) in 2016, India ranks lowest among South Asian countries with regard to breastfeeding practices.

In particular, the report highlights that only 44 percent of women are able to breastfeed their infants within an hour of their delivery. India ranks lower than Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in breastfeeding practices.

As women find it difficult to breastfeed their baby immediately after the delivery, in most hospitals infants are introduced to formula milk for the first few days. This makes them dependent on formula milk and later the baby finds it difficult to adapt to breastfeeding. Consequently, most mothers continue to rely on formula milk for their infants.

Westernisation, the Market and Breastfeeding in India

As per a Neilson report in 2015, the global formula milk market is worth $35 billion. These infant milk companies target urban and working mothers and lure them by suggesting how formula milk can reduce their burden. Mothers in the West have been relying on formula milk for generations. And now, mothers in India are imitating the Western lifestyle and adopting similar practices in child rearing.

Only 44 percent of women are able to breastfeed their infants within one hour of their delivery.
Mothers in India are imitating the Western lifestyle and adopting similar practices in child rearing.
(Photo: iStockphoto)

Interestingly, use of infant milk is not restricted to simply the upper and the middle class in India, but goes beyond them too. Since in most urban slums the women have to work for a living, they also rely on formula milk for their infants. These women cannot afford to remain out of pay for six months, and have to get back to work within two months of their delivery. Thus, the infants are introduced to formula milk.

Implications of Low Breastfeeding Practices

The abysmal rates of breastfeeding has severe consequences. As per a Lancet report (2016), breastfeeding reduces 4,915 cases of breast cancer, 35 percent of obesity and 35 percent type 2 diabetes post pregnancy.

Additionally, the report also indicated that breastfeeding can reduce 1,56,000 child deaths each year, 34,36,560 respiratory infections and 39,00,000 episodes of diarrhea among young children in India. Finally, the report suggested that consistent breastfeeding also leads to overall development of IQ among children and can help India emerge as a superpower.

Reforms Needed for Breastfeeding in India

Recently Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation and the Bandra Station of Western Railway introduced women lounges and nursing rooms where mothers can breastfeed their children. These rooms will have drinking water, restrooms and baby-feeding cubicles. This effort should be lauded and the Central Government should urge all states to make similar provisions for breastfeeding mothers in public spaces.

Only 44 percent of women are able to breastfeed their infants within one hour of their delivery.
Doctors as a medical community need to take more responsibility to promote breastfeeding and discourage formula based products.
(Photo: iStock/Altered by The Quint)

One of the major reasons for formula companies to be able to sell their products is that mothers find it very convenient during travelling. Breastfeeding in the public is rarely encouraged and mothers generally shy away from it. Additionally, the government also needs to advertise massively regarding the advantages of breastfeeding to encourage young mothers to engage in this practice extensively.

Finally, doctors as a medical community need to take more responsibility to promote breastfeeding and discourage formula based products. It is important for both the government and the medical community to realise that the health of the nation rests upon their decisions.

(Jagriti Gangopadhyay is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Manipal Centre for Humanities. The views expressed above are the writer’s own.)

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

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Topics:  Pregnancy   Motherhood   Breastfeeding 

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