India’s exclusive breastfeeding rate drops 8 points: expert

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.