Breastfeeding: India
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Incidence
Only 44% newborns get mother’s milk
The Times of India, Sep 2, 2015
Himanshi Dhawan
Less than 50% are breastfed in first hour of birth in India
Despite increase in institutional deliveries, the number of children in India being breastfed in the first hour of birth is less than half.
India in fact ranks lowest among South Asian countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in breastfeeding practices, with only 44% women being able to breastfeed their babies within one hour of delivery.
According to the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) 2015, India scored 78 out of 150, only marginally higher than its 2012 score of 74. Paucity of data, ineffective policies, lack of budget and coordination, and absence of better monitoring are limiting breastfeeding practices in India.
Prepared by the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) and the Public Health Resource Network (PHRN), the report indicates marginal improvement in Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices. "It is not understandable why only 44% of women are able to begin breastfeeding within an hour when more than 75% of women deliver in institutions as claimed by PM Modi," Arun Gupta, BPNI central coordinator said. The report recommends an effective monitoring mechanism, national policy on IYCF, revival of baby-friendly hospitals, maternity protection and provision of a nine month maternity leave. The assessment, done every three to five years as part of WHO's World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi), reveals gaps in all ten areas of policies and programmes to be implemented for enhancing breastfeeding rates.
According to the data, out of 26 million born in India, 14.5 million children are not able to get optimal feeding practices during the first year of life. While 44.6% women initiate breastfeeding within one hour of delivery, 64.9% are breastfed up to six months and 50.5% babies receive complementary food within 6-8 months.
The report said increasing sale of infant food, lack of support to women in the family and at workplaces and inadequate healthcare support as reasons behind low breastfeeding rate in the country.
Breastfeeding and the law
From the archives of The Times of India 2007, 2009
‘Mother has right to breastfeed her child’
The Gujarat High Court has ordered Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to ensure that a woman breastfeeds her newborn girl, who was weaned away from her mother by her parents because she was a lovechild. When the court was told that the parents had forced the separation of the mother and child because they disapproved of her relationship with the child’s father, the court asked the hospital staff to take help of woman constables, if needed, to ensure that the parents did not interfere with their daughter’s life. Sarita — her parents claim that she was married — eloped with a Marathi boy, Hitesh, some time last year. Her parents filed a habeas corpus in the Gujarat high court and she was brought to the court by cops on July 27 last year. But she refused to go with her parents. The court told them Sarita was not a minor and was free to live with Hitesh. TNN From the archives of The Times of India 2007, 2009
