Celebrating breastfeeding

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) began in 1992, set from the 1st-7th August, in order to promote public awareness to encourage and support breastfeeding. The theme of this year’s celebrations was to “Step up for Breastfeeding – Educate and Support.” And so, the Morning Star team in Auroville did just that. On the 5th August,all breastfeeding mothers and their partners, and children were invited to an event organized by the Morning Star team and held in the International Zone of Auroville. The WBW event was designing to honour and celebrate the breastfeeding mother; to ensure she feels comfortable, safe and supported. Her family was welcomed with her, to help spread education on the topic, and to ensure that she continues to be supported when she returns home.

Health workers and students from the bioregion were also invited to add their knowledge and enthusiasm to the event. The Mother Theresa Post Graduate and Research Institute of Health Sciences, from Puducherry, was represented by Dr. Manju Bala and her students. The students performed theatre in Tamil, which was enthusiastically applauded and loved by many who had seen it in several other regional venues as well. The Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences was also represented at the event, by students who had prepared an informative presentation.

Nirmala, a “Human Milk Donor”, who also happens to live near to Auroville, attended the event to share her inspiring and award winning story. Nirmala has successfully been donating milk for over 7 years, and has been recognized for her efforts throughout India. She was accompanied by her husband who also shared how the topic of milk donation was initially received skeptically, but now brought a deep sense of pride to their families. What could be more sacred than offering such a life support, freely, to others that need it at the most vulnerable time in their infant’s life? We were reminded that human milk donation must remain a donation, and that commercializing it could result in a chain reaction of harmful results for mothers and their babies.

Morning Star also screened a video on Global Health in Tamil, which helped understand the challenges faced in our area regarding social norms and difficulties that a breastfeeding mother may have to face. The Morning Star team of midwives and doulas follow the recommendations by the World Health Organization (WHO), that state that all mothers should be supported to initiate breastfeeding as soon as possible after delivery of a baby, ideally within the first hour. This sacred act of bonding between mother and child is sometimes challenging, and thus the counselling of a midwife is often crucial.

At the end of the presentations, one woman suggested that Auroville become a ‘Breastfeeding Friendly Community’. We could reduce barriers to breastfeeding for all women, regardless of work place. Women should be entitled to, and encouraged, to take nursing breaks at the workplace. Auroville could also consider establishing lactation stations in public spaces, parks, restaurants, and shops, where breastfeeding is a matter of convenience for every mother.

The WHO recommends that mothers exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months of life. It is also recommended that she introduce complementary food for up to 2 years, but that she continues to breastfeed alongside. Not only breastfeeding, but skin-skin contact also improves neo-natal survival and reduces infant mortality. Thus, it is beginning to be widely understood, that one must not only tolerate a breastfeeding woman in public, but that efforts should be made to make her feel comfortable and celebrated. The hope is that this event brings attention to the importance of supporting the breastfeeding mother, and inspires us all to make efforts to put safeguards in place for nursing in private or public contexts, throughout all levels of society.