Breastfeeding is a fundamental right of a child

Breastfeeding is a fundamental right of a child.

"Breastfeeding should be the fundamental right of a child. There is a lack of awareness about breastfeeding in India. Today, 55% of children under six months are only breastfed. A significant 45% have not received breast milk. A survey found 56% of rural and 51% of urban areas are breastfeeding. We should raise legal awareness about this.

The Karnataka High Court took a significant step towards acknowledging the importance of breastfeeding in contemporary India by making breastfeeding a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and protecting the right of a suckling infant to be breastfed. We do not have any legal laws yet regarding breastfeeding, and the child should have the right to health, including the right to nutrition, which is part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

If a woman defends her right to choose whether to breastfeed, I want to help her understand that cohabitation is a part of marriage, and if the child is the purpose of marriage, then parents should also protect the health of the child. By not feeding a child, we deprive him or her of essential nutrition.

The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months.  Then, they should introduce suitable foods, still nursing, from six months onward.  Breastfeeding should continue for at least two years, or even longer.

We call the process of stopping breastfeeding "weaning."

Our Indian legal system protects the child before birth. After five weeks of pregnancy, the embryo forms two heart tubes. Blood flows through this tubular "heart" as it starts to beat. After that, if the mother tries to kill the child, she will face punishment for culpable homicide. Then, why do we not protect the health of the child after birth as well?

There is no law stated in our Constitution that deals with breastfeeding in public. But past applications requested amendments and made this legal. It was to stop embarrassing remarks to the breastfeeding mother in public. Both the Regulation of Production, Supply, and Distribution Act (amended act 2003) and the Maternity Benefit Amendment Act 2017 are in force. But they are not enough to raise awareness about breastfeeding.

Rural areas face low literacy and superstitions about breastfeeding. Urban areas face issues with women's jobs and physiques. We can protect children's health by giving them the right to breastfeed. A legal framework for breastfeeding will support this right.

So breastfeeding should be a fundamental right for newborns.