She fights for newborns’ right: Mother’s milk

In the run-up to the International Women’s day, we are featuring UNSUNG WOMEN HEROES who have been fighting malnutrition in Gujarat with iron resolve.

By Kumar Manish

Sincere efforts of Dahiben Parmar has made breastfeeding an accepted practice in Thori community in Sabarkantha which used to consider the practice a taboo.

Until some years ago, newly borns in ‘Thoris’, a community of cane basket weavers settled in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat, would not know the strength and sweetness of mama’s milk. They were fed gur-ghee (a mixture of jaggery and clarified butter) upon their arrival in the world. The reason: Breastfeeding to newborns was considered as taboo and hence a strict no-no.

Thori Vaas is a settlement of 25 houses on the edge of Laxmipura village in Gujarat’s Sabarkantha district. While the womenfolk weave the baskets, the men sell them in nearby markets.

But these days the ripples of change has touched the shores of the remote villages in Sabarkantha, thanks to 35-year-old Dahiben Parmar, a village volunteer working closely with an Anganwadi centres in the region.

Even as urban India keeps itself busy with the propriety of an image of a woman breastfeeding a baby on a magazine cover, Dahiben, away from the prying eyes of media, works resolutely to create awareness on how crucial is breastfeeding for newborns for last many years now.

Dahiben accepted the daunting challenge of demystifying the taboo around breastfeeding to bring about the positive change in the community. It’s her concerted efforts that the community has abandoned this age-old practice and adopted the practice of exclusive breastfeeding to newborns.

Three years ago, Thori women and children had no inclination to visit local Anganwadi Centre (AWC). This before Dahiben began work in the area.
On her initial challenges, Dahiben said, “My co-workers warned me that the community would never change its traditional practice. I always believe that person-to-person interaction does wonder. So, I volunteered to initiate regular household visits to speak to family members and particularly women.”

The Anganwadi centre provides basic healthcare in villages in Gujarat. It provides basic health care necessity, like contraceptive counseling and supply, nutrition education and supplementation, and pre-school activities.

Recalling her initial days in the field, Dahiben said, “I was able to make friends with womenfolk in the community. But they still resisted the change. They would fear to venture out of the house in absence of men. Besides, they did not want to compromise on their weaving hours. Their resistance was stemmed from lack of awareness and literacy.”

“By a stroke of good fortune, I met Ashaben, a young mother from the community who was a class seven pass-out. She was my hope. I repeatedly discussed food and nutrition information and that how crucial it is for the growth of children, particularly newborns. I requested Ashaben to come with me to Aanganwadi to avail the ICDS services,” added she.

Ashaben relented and her decision set in motion a momentous change in attitudes in her community. Dahiben said, “It just takes an honest push to bring a positive change. Soon other mothers followed the footsteps of Ashaben and today the entire community avails ICDS services,”

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) is a programme, which provides food, preschool education, and primary healthcare to children below 6 years and their mothers.

On the acceptance of breastfeeding in the community and Dahiben’s efforts, Alkaben, an ASHA worker in Thori Vaas, said, “Today, mothers with a newborn in the community are doing exclusive breastfeeding until six months. This is now largely accepted and followed religiously. It was made possible because of Dahiben’s persistence and the community’s faith in her.”

According to WHO, scientific evidence supports the importance of breastfeeding practices for reducing child mortality and morbidity, malnutrition, and non-communicable diseases in adult life.

#EveryChildAlive #ChampionsofNutrition #Gujarat

About the author: Kumar Manish is an independent journalist & chief communicator at Communicate Karo, working on communications for Not for Profits. He is passionate about sustainable & happy cities and children rights. He is an avid social media contributor and believes in social media for social good. He tweets from @kumarmanish9

Photo caption: Dahiben (L) engaging with the woman of Thori-Vaas during her house visits.

– DeshGujarat