Global breastfeeding rates rise, India yet to arrest decline
Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the Union health ministry attributed the decline in India's exclusive breastfeeding rate to multiple factors, including socio-cultural practices, family customs, individual preferences, the use of pre-lacteal feeds and infant milk substitutes, and breastfeeding frequency.
India's exclusive breastfeeding rate has declined, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6, 2023-24). The rate had increased from 54.9% to 63.7% between NFHS-4 and NFHS-5, but dropped to 55.8% in NFHS-6.
The Union health ministry has attributed the decline to various factors, including socio-cultural practices, family customs, individual preferences, the use of pre-lacteal feeds and infant milk substitutes, and breastfeeding frequency, as per ETHealthworld.
Maternal healthcare indicators in India have generally shown improvement, with institutional deliveries reaching 90.6% and postnatal care coverage at 82.8% in NFHS-6, The Hindu Health reported. However, the decline in exclusive breastfeeding rates is a notable exception to this trend.
Brief written by urgent.news from ETHealthworld, The Hindu Health — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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