GS Mains Model Question & Answer : Discuss the challenges of encouraging Breastfeeding in India. Impact on health due to lack of breastfeeding and Government initiative in tackling the issue. Discuss. Comment

Q. Discuss the challenges of encouraging Breastfeeding in India. Impact on health due to lack of breastfeeding and Government initiative in tackling the issue. Discuss. Comment

Model Answer:

Discuss the challenges of encouraging Breastfeeding in India. Impact on health due to lack of breastfeeding and Government initiative in tackling the issue. Discuss.

Reasons:

1) Rates of breastfeeding are going down in higher socio-economic group. This is partly because they can afford to buy alternative feeds and partly because most people don’t understand why it is important to breastfeed.
2) The awareness about breast milk and early nutrition is poor among new mothers.
3) Currently, 38% of children are stunted and 35.7% are underweight in India. Experts maintain that inappropriate complementary feeding practices are having a significant impact on the nutritional status of children.

The Rapid Survey on Children (Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2015) shows that only 45% infants are now being breastfed within an hour of birth in India and just 65% are being exclusively breastfed as per World Health Organization recommendations.

Benefit:

1) Composition of early milk could impact the temperament of the infants.
2) Besides providing the baby milk nutrients ,it profoundly effects babies development.

Yet the composition of human milk or how it is both food and medicine tailor made to meet the needs of the baby remains a mystry.

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