A close friend had just given birth. All of us there were gleaming, looking at the little doll who had just been born. Within 15 minutes, there was a nurse who rushed in with a bottle of formula. She instructed the mother to give 30ml of formula every 2 hours without fail.

I was aghast at the suggestion. It had not been even one hour after the birth of the baby. The baby had not been given the opportunity to breastfeed directly yet. There was no medical indication for formula to be introduced. There was no way the mother could even be diagnosed with low milk supply or inadequate milk supply a few hours after birth.

I felt rage as I stepped up for the mother and told her that the baby should be allowed to breastfeed and be given skin to skin at the earliest.

It was not the mother’s fault. She had just given birth. If it were anyone else, she would not have been able to stand up for herself. The child would have received formula without a medical need.

I realized what a huge gap there was at medical institutions with supporting women on their breastfeeding journey. While we speak about the importance of exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months and breastfeeding within the first hour of birth as one of the means to reduce childhood mortality and malnutrition, not much is done on the ground to actually support breastfeeding.

This is not just after the baby is born, but even after, mothers are asked to introduce formula when not medically indicated. Inadequate/ incorrect information shared by medical professionals has lead to unnecessary cessation of breastfeeding and introduction of formula by many mothers. Once formula is introduced, it further decreases the supply in the mother since breast milk works on the basic principal of supply = demand. This results in several adverse health outcomes in the mother, the baby, the family and even the nation.

As a certified Lactation Educator and Counsellor and founder of Breastfeeding Support for Indian Mothers (BSIM), I come across many such instances of medical negligence where mothers are asked to introduce formula when there is no medical reason for the same.

Through the course of my decade long work, I have impacted more than 3.5 lakh lives and helped over 1.5 lakh women with their breastfeeding journey.

I have come across exceptional medical professionals who support breastfeeding, and do the best to enable mothers and babies. However, most acknowledge that they did not gain enough information about breastfeeding during their medical education.

As per a study done by Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) in the year 2000, only 30% of doctors and nurses had received “any” training in breastfeeding.

Health of the most vulnerable – new mothers and newborn babies is at stake. We are losing lives and causing children to have a cascade of potential poor health outcomes (especially in areas where malnutrition is high).

Breastfeeding reduces the odds of many health conditions in the mother and the baby, reduces health care costs of the nation and also protects the environment. 

Medical professionals always do the very best they can to support mothers and babies. There is absolutely zero doubt in it. By getting educated about lactation, they will be able to support mothers and babies more adequately.

By ensuring that all medical professionals get lactation education, we invest in the good health of the future generations, ensure that there are lower infant deaths, lower infant malnutrition. 

It is a simple solution to the rather complicated issue at hand.

Please sign the petition if you feel this is important for the well-being of mothers and babies and with the overall intention of reducing infant mortality and infant malnutrition in our country.

#ActionLactation