A pan-India survey by Momspresso.com in 2019, a platform for motherhood and empowering mothers, revealed that breastfeeding in public areas is still a big challenge in India, with only 6% of mothers finding designated areas to comfortably nurse their children. Almost three years later, the situation has not much changed. However, in Rajasthan’s Sriganganagar district, a 2012-batch IAS officer, who is the District Collector, Ms. Rukmani Riar is trying to change the scenario. Under her guidance, the administration has opened a separate room for breastfeeding at the city’s main bus stand and has named it ‘Matra Shakti Room’.
Matra Shakti Room will provide a safe and peaceful environment for women to breastfeed their children. The first feeding room was inaugurated on April 28 and two more such rooms will be ready at Anupgarh and Suratgarh bus stands by 31May.
Indian Masterminds interacted with Ms. Rukmani Riar to get more details about the initiative from her.
MATRA SHAKTI ROOM
The cost of the Matra Shakti Room was around 2.50 lakh rupees and was borne by the Urban Improvement Trust (UIT).
Speaking to Indian Masterminds, Ms. Riar said, “We have seen mothers facing problems in feeding their children in public at many areas. So, just like there are feeding rooms at the airport, we have set up feeding rooms at the district level. Here, woman can sit with their small toddler or infant peacefully in a quiet hygienic place where they can feel safe to breast feed. Our plan is to make one such room in every bus stand in the city.”
She added that in Ganganagar, 35 thousand commuters travel daily of whom women form a large percentage. So, it was necessary to have these special rooms for mothers.
THE SPECIAL ROOMS
Matra Shakti Room is well equipped with an air-conditioner, cradle, toys, and water facilities. The beautiful pictures of these rooms went viral on Internet and people started praising this initiative on social media. According to an official, on an average 10 to 20 women passengers are using the Matra Shakti Room facility. The facility will be maintained by the state roadways and the Lion’s Club will provide assistance in its smooth functioning.
FUTURE PLAN
Ms. Riar said that they will also go to the gram panchayat level to develop such infrastructure for nursing mothers. “Our next step is to launch such rooms at the panchayat level bus stands,so that women get a safe environment to feed comfortably without any fear. This will be the first district in India where every gram panchayat will have such breast-feeding room. We will complete this step in the next three months.”
THREE BIG BENEFITS
The officer also pointed out three major benefits of such special rooms for mothers. “It encourages breast feeding, it is a step towards women empowerment, and it provides security to women. These are the three big benefits of this initiative. Also, if women breastfeed in peaceful environment, then it is good for the health of both the mother and child.”
MOMSPRESSO.COM SURVEY
Momspresso.com conducted a survey to determine the primary challenges faced by breastfeeding Indian mothers. In a five-minute, web-link based survey, 900 mothers were surveyed, 77% of whom were in the 25-35 age group while the remaining 23% were in the age group of 36-45 years. The survey reported some disturbing findings. According to the survey, almost 90% of Indian women surveyed had fed their babies in their own car, 78% in public transport, 56% in restaurants, 49% in car parking, 47% in trial rooms, 44% in washrooms, 41% in religious places and 32% in parks. Only 6% of the mothers surveyed found breastfeeding rooms to comfortably nurse their children.
The most awkward places where mothers breastfed their babies were a broom closet room in an airport, under a tree, the waiting room of the passport office, bank queues, washrooms, a bench in a mall, and bus stop. Around 81% mothers said that they were not comfortable feeding their children in public due to the lack of proper breastfeeding places. Majority of the mothers stated that the greatest deterrents were uncomfortable stares, hygiene, and a lack of privacy.
Under such circumstances, the initiative taken by Sriganganagar district is in the right direction and was much needed.
