Introduction

The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) campaign was begun in 1992, and since 2016 is a part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as outlined by the UN. The main point of action is to come up with innovative and sustainable ways to ensure that women feel comfortable and confident enough to be able to breastfeed their babies without any restrictions. This initiative is duly supported by the WHO, Ministries of Health of various nations, and UNICEF, along with local partners who work at the grassroots level to ensure better outreach. Let us see why this is such a crucial campaign to begin with.

Advantages Of Breast Milk

Breast milk has been called liquid gold (colostrum, early stages of lactation) or complete baby food and serves one main purpose- to provide complete nutrition to infants as soon as they are born. Mothers can choose how long they would like to breastfeed, but the ideal time period is to breastfeed on demand for the first 6 months of their life. Then, breastfeeding can be supplemented with solids till they turn 2 years of age. Breast milk is chock full of nutrients- water, carbohydrates, good fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals. The cool part- it is customised almost every day, to meet your baby’s growing nutritional demands! The quality of milk changes based on the foods the mother consumes. The amounts of milk depend on how often your baby feeds. So, the more often they feed, the more quantities of milk you make. 

The benefits of breastfeeding stay long after the baby has been weaned, for years actually- and provides them with immunity, and lowers their susceptibility to certain conditions like diabetes, respiratory disorders, ear infections, obesity, certain kinds of cancers, etc. It also helps in reducing the overall caretaking costs associated with healthcare later on. While all this sounds fascinating, let us look at why some women may not prefer to breastfeed-

• It is a very energy-intensive process as our bodies need more energy to make the milk according to the infant’s requirements. 
• Did you also know that breastfeeding on demand is akin to working a full-time job, annually? Almost 1700-1800 hours per year actually! 
• Work stress can influence women to stop breastfeeding prematurely, as most organizations do not have mum-friendly policies in place. 
• There is a lot of advice and misinformation going around, and everyone has something to say about it. So, don’t bother listening to random strangers about what you should be doing.
• Lack of maternity leave and associated benefits.
• Lack of flexibility with respect to timings or work schedules.
• Lack of creche and childcare services.

The Indian government came up with the Indian Maternity Benefit Act in 1961. This Act outlines the importance of paid maternity leave (26 weeks or 6 months), a creche facility if the organization has more than 50 employees, and that the mother can visit the child up to 4 times a day in the designated creche area. Adoption also works similarly- up to 12 weeks of maternity leave is provided for new mothers. 

Conclusion

The theme this year outlines how the community as a whole can help new and lactating mothers by providing them with the help they deserve. Giving birth to a baby and taking care of them is no small feat. It takes a village to raise a child well. There is a lot of stigma associated with lactation and new mothers- and there are feelings of inadequacy which show up- like am I making enough milk for my baby? Why is my baby crying constantly? Am I doing something wrong? Why is my baby not gaining weight? Etc., etc., etc. The constant worrying can place great physical and mental stress on the mother. We as a community need to establish a no-judgement safe space for them. What are you waiting for? See a new mother, give her a hurrah! 

FAQs