# India’s exclusive breastfeeding rate drops 8 points: expert 2026-08-24T05:36:38+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet India has recorded a nearly 8 percentage point drop in exclusive breastfeeding among infants under six months, data from the latest national survey shows. Paediatrician Dr D Sivaraman told The Federal that for a country of India's size, this decline means a huge number of babies are missing out on optimal nutrition. Dr Sivaraman attributed the trend to multiple factors: working mothers with only six months of maternity leave, hospitals failing to enforce breastfeeding protocols, especially after caesarean deliveries, and family pressure from older generations who advise starting solids as early as three-and-a-half months. He said hospitals must implement written breastfeeding protocols and offer counselling during the final trimester, while families need education to support rather than stress the mother. Exclusive breastfeeding, feeding only breast milk from birth to six months, is recommended by the World Health Organization. Dr Sivaraman said that if started properly, many mothers continue for 1.5 to 2 years, but returning to work and misconceptions about baby weight push families to introduce complementary foods too early. ## Indian Opinion Analysis India's exclusive breastfeeding rate has fallen from 63% in NFHS-5 (2019-21) to about 55% in the latest survey. This means roughly 8 lakh fewer infants each year receive optimal nutrition in their first six months. The next Union Budget, due in February 2025, could extend the Maternity Benefit Act's 26-week paid leave, currently only for organised-sector women, to more mothers. Also watch for state-level enforcement of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, which many smaller hospitals still ignore. The real test of any policy will be whether it reaches the 70% of Indian mothers who work in the unorganised sector with zero maternity leave. ## Coverage - thefederal.com Led with the 8% decline and expert's concern, no government official quoted, no political angle This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, Dr D Sivaraman, World Health Organization Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/indias-exclusive-breastfeeding-rate-drops-8-points-expert/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/indias-exclusive-breastfeeding-rate-drops-8-points-expert/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/