About 31% of children in Salyan are deprived of full breastfeeding. Recently, the number of breastfeeding mothers has decreased due to modernity, busy lifestyles, increased use of social media, availability of milk substitutes, and concerns about body changes. As a result, children are not receiving regular breastfeeding. The government has set a target of increasing the number of breastfeeding mothers to 90% by 2030, considering breastfeeding a key factor in achieving sustainable development goals. However, according to statistics from the Health Service Office in Salyan, the number of fully breastfeeding mothers is declining, posing a challenge to reaching this goal.
Hari Gharti, the statistics officer at the Health Service Office, analyzed the health management system statistics and reported that 31% of children in the district are still deprived of full breastfeeding. According to him, in the previous financial year 2022/23, 50.2% of children were exclusively breastfed for six months, while in the last financial year 2023/24, the rate was 71.1%. He noted that these figures are based on monthly monitoring of children’s growth in health institutions. Dr. Arjun Kumar Budhamagar, Chairperson of the Health Service Office , Salyan, stated that the number of mothers who breastfeed their babies exclusively for six months and those who start breastfeeding within an hour after birth is increasing. However, he noted that children are still deprived of full breastfeeding because the number of mothers who continue breastfeeding from birth to six months is low. He emphasised that mother’s milk is considered nectar for babies. However, recently there has been an increase in the practice of giving formula milk or introducing supplementary foods before the baby reaches six months, mainly due to issues such as a lack of mother’s milk.
The Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Act 2018, Chapter 3, Section 13, provides that a woman working in a government, non-government, or private organization or institution has the right to paid maternity leave for a minimum of ninety-eight days before or after childbirth to to promote and facilitate breastfeeding of newborns.It also allows for up to one year of unpaid leave based on medical advice if necessary.