The past week was abuzz with celebrations in connection with the World Breastfeeding week. Flash mobs and walkathons were held to spread awareness about the importance of breastfeeding. The flash mob held at Kochi in particular made the public sit up and take notice. A group of new and young mothers holding their babies in kangaroo baby carriers danced their hearts out. This made people wonder whether a state like Kerala and its women really need ‘awareness’ to breastfeed. Are our women backing out from breastfeeding due to beauty reasons or are they in a fix because the system hasn’t provided her with a support system to look after her child?
THE TRENDSETTER MOM: I started acting when my son was one. Me coming with a child on the set was something new to them. I have not worked with fellow mother on the set. They were not disgusted by it or raise any eyebrow.
Shoba Koshy, chairperson of the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, says, “We tend to believe that because we have literacy, everything else follows. But now we have begun to understand that by simply saying we are literate doesn’t mean we need to follow these typecasts, that is what our experiences have shown us. There is a need for us to be constantly vigilant and keep on highlighting issues so that it stays in the mental frame of people. Certainly there is a drop in breastfeeding.
In Kerala, the situation is very low compared to other states. One reason is that Kerala has a pretty high working women population.”
Koshy, who is also a former Chief Postmaster General, says she remembers the many young women who used to work under her. “The question is, how many working women will be able to take a six-month leave to exclusively breastfeed their baby without a support system? Do they have a model employer? Are they expected to come back and work without enough maternity leave? It may be possible in the government sector, but what about private sector? Is there enough infrastructure to see that the child is breastfed? In a nuclear family family support to look after the baby is not common. This is not a single issue, there are so many factors that play into it. There is a very miniscule number of women who might back out in the name of beauty.”
A RESPONSIBLE MOTHERHOOD: Women in Kerala are rising to the bold move of breastfeeding children in public. Women have begun to accept that there is more to organ ‘breast’ than the sexual tag given to it.
Writer Saradakutty teacher points out that women and her ideas revolving around marriage and motherhood has changed. “Women place career in the forefront today. Young girls today have a broader perspective about the life they want to live. But when a woman decides to have a child, the motherly instincts kick in and breastfeeding is part of that instinct. I believe there will be very few women who keep away from breastfeeding in the name of fashion. What I have observed is that women in Kerala are rising to the bold move of breastfeeding children in public. Women have begun to accept that there is more to the organ ‘breast’ than just the sexual tag attached to it. Young girls today do not stop at being beauty consciousness alone, they are more aware of their duties and social responsibilities.”
Actor Kaniha broke all barriers when she walked into the film set with her little son. “My nature of job is very flexible. It has its advantages and disadvantages. We can’t plan our day properly, but when it comes to taking the child with me, I never faced any problem. This is a huge advantage of film industry. I don’t think it’s the same with corporate jobs,” she says. “I started acting when my son was one. I have not worked with a fellow mother on the set. Coming with a child on the set was something new to them. They were not disgusted or raise any eyebrow. But it’s not something they get to see regularly.”
Dr I. Riyaz, assistant professor (Pediatrics), Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, says, “There is definitely a drop in breastfeeding and breastfeeding initiation. In Kerala, only 50 per cent of new mothers breastfeed for six months, according to statistics from the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India. We have fallen behind Goa, Manipur and many other states when it comes to breastfeeding initiation as well.”
