Actress Dia Mirza, who recently welcomed her first child- son Avyaan Azaad Rekhi, has questioned the stigma around breastfeeding in public in India. In a recent interview, the actress opened up about the challenges women face while breastfeeding in public. Dia mentioned that there is a 'lack of safe spaces for new mothers to breastfeed their children, and added that public feeding 'triggers shame and judgment.' The Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein actress also raised a question as to why we have never highlighted how hard it is for underserved mothers to feed their babies on construction sites, farms and roadside stalls without any privacy.
On the occasion of World Breastfeeding Week, the new mommy, while talking to Mid-Day, shared her views on feeding the baby in public and stated that in Belgium, breastfeeding in public is protected by law, but in India, we need to bring about a systematic shift in societal attitude.
“Feeding a child should be considered a natural act, but it triggers so much shame and judgment when done in public. Those not breastfed are 'six to 10 times more likely to die in the [early months].' It should worry us that India continues to have one of the highest rates of malnutrition and infant mortality,” Dia mentioned.
Dia Mirza welcomed their first child, a baby boy with her husband Vaibhav Rekhi in May. The actress announced the happy news via an Instagram post and also revealed that the baby was born prematurely 'via an emergency C-section.'
Sharing a picture of the baby's hand, Dia had written, “A sudden appendectomy during my pregnancy and a subsequent and very severe bacterial infection could have led to sepsis and proven to be life threatening. Thankfully, the timely care and intervention by our doctor ensured the safe birth of our baby via an emergency C-section.”
Image source: instagram/diamirzaofficial