TIRUCHY: With no dedicated room to breastfeed babies, women who visit the district collector's office, especially on Mondays during the weekly grievance meet, find it hard to feed their babies. Around half the petitions that are filed every Monday at the collector's office are by women, many of whom bring their babies along with them.
In the absence of a dedicated room, mothers who have to breastfeed their babies have to scramble to find a secluded spot. A Pooja (22) who had arrived at the collectorate to file a petition regarding a community certificate rectification, had to carry her five-month-old baby along as she kept waiting for her turn in the queue. "I was instructed by the doctor to breastfeed every hour to keep my baby hydrated, but without a secluded space it is embarrassing to do it," she added.
M Shanthi, a social worker who helps the public in penning their petitions, said she witnesses at least five mothers struggling to feed their babies. "Since most mothers are young, they are not ready to find a secluded place to feed, which eventually affects the babies' health," she added.
"Not just in Tiruchy, most of the districts and major government offices do not have a dedicated place for breastfeeding," Shanthi added. Since the process to file a petition is quite long, a minimum of two hours would be needed to complete the process, and a baby cannot be left unfed for that long, said a woman who did not want to be named.
"On the other days of the week too, the public approaches the collector's office for various purposes, so having a separate room would be convenient," she added. Tiruchy collector M Pradeep said, no requests for a breastfeeding room were received so far. However, he assured me that based on the room availability in the office, a separate room would be arranged for the purpose or some makeshift arrangement would be made.