In India, malnutrition has remained persistently high, in utero, in early life, among mothers, and in young girls. Around 28% of the children below the age of 5 are stunted and the same number is likely to be underweight (NFHS IV). Wasting is seen in 18% of all children below the age of 5 (NFHS IV). Exclusive breastfeeding is on the lower end among mothers and again it is considered as a critical human rights intervention.
Mother’s milk is proven to reduce the baby’s susceptibility to infections, related morbidity, and enhance lifelong learning capabilities. Even though breastfeeding is seen as lifesaving, there is very little that is done to promote breastfeeding. In recent times, the government has promoted 6 months of leave for breastfeeding for working mothers. Our reality is that a large number of women fall out of the job arena or move on to feed formula food when they join work. However, these efforts are half-hearted when women repeatedly experience barriers to breastfeeding the baby in their private as well as public spaces.