Juggling between work & breastfeeding setback for women in informal sector

Juggling between work & breastfeeding setback for women in informal sector The oft-cited solution to breastfeeding while workingexpressed breastmilk-wasn’t an option for working mothers as there are significant cultural barriers against pumping and expressing milk

Current Affairs : Kavita, a 24-year-old home-based worker, makes toran (decorative wall hangings) for a living. She lives in a north Delhi settlement, working eight hours a day for a daily profit of Rs 30-50.

A tall, streetwise, and seemingly nervous woman, Kavita had to give up a housekeeping job that paid her more than twice her current income because of her childcare responsibilities.

She is the primary caregiver for her four-year-old child and a three-monthold infant and also the primary earner in her household. Her husband, a rickshaw driver, hasn’t held a steady job in months, forcing Kavita to juggle responsibilities.

Kavita’s precarious working conditions limit her ability to exclusively breastfeed her infant for six months. Mother’s milk is an important factor in ensuring good health and nutrition among the poorest in a country with a third of the world’s undernourished children under the age of five, according to the Global Nutrition Report 2017.

ALSO READ: With or without kids, women aren’t favoured by Hong Kong employers: Study We asked Kavita if she believed three months of exclusive breastfeeding was enough for her infant. “I managed to do it for three months but I will not be able to do it for six months as one must,” she said. “I have to step out to get a job that pays well and it is unthinkable for me to take…Read more

Infant Feeding Practices During Mothers’s Working Hours