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Medical science has established that breastfeeding is important for babies. In India too, it is well-understood and accepted that breastfeeding is a must. But the picture is a mix when it comes to enabling mothers to securely breastfeed the baby. A working mother could for instance be present at a public place and could feel the need to breastfeed her child. In such cases, she has to struggle to find ways to give her baby the nutrition it deserves.
Recently, the Kerala High Court dismissed a petition to declare the picture of a breastfeeding woman on a magazine cover as obscene. Here, the fact that a petition was filed claiming this act to be obscene itself should raise questions. In Europe, breastfeeding in public is uncontroversial and widely accepted. In UK and France, there exist laws to protect breastfeeding mothers in public. The issue of breastfeeding in public had generated considerable debate in Australia after a few female Members of Parliament were discouraged from breastfeeding in the House. However, in 2016, the Australian government changed rules to allow breastfeeding in parliament. Following this, Larissa Waters became the first MP to breastfeed a baby in the Senate.
In India, breastfeeding in public is accepted in rural areas and small towns, but the big cities need to accept the issue with special provision for the nursing mothers.
“Ideally public places such as malls should have an area where the mother can feed the child” says Dr Kavita Sreekumar, assistant professor of pediatrics, GMC “ There have been cases where women have to go to washroom to breastfeed the child, which is not a hygienic place. It should be mandatory for establishments such as hotels, restaurants to have a ‘baby care area’,” she says.
Dr Sonia Choudhary, lactation consultant, note that there is a rising awareness about breastfeeding in India. She adds that “There should be provisions in public places for women to be able to breastfeed their child comfortably with the required amenities specially the backrest. It is one of the pre-requisites to maintain the health and posture of the nursing mother. ” Talking about breastfeeding in the open, she says that it is the mother’s choice whether she chooses to do so or not, but in case she wants to protect her privacy, the facilities should be provided.
“It’s not such a big issue in India because the way Indians dress, they could easily cover themselves while breastfeeding the baby, and many do it quite comfortably,” opines Dr Ira Almeida, Medical Superintendent, Hospicio, Margao. “We have a breastfeeding counsellor at the hospital who begins disseminating information to women when they are pregnant,” she informs, underling that the hospital has a strong commitment towards ensuring breastfeeding.
