The Odisha government asked all senior officials to set up breastfeeding cabins in offices and public places, an official said.

The additional secretary of the Women and Child Development Department, Reena Mohapatra, in a letter to all the department secretaries, directors, and district collectors asked them to set up breastfeeding cabins in all offices to boost the practice and also enhance the standard of governance in the state.

The official said while the secretaries and directors would look after the setting up of breastfeeding cabins in offices, the district collectors would ensure the setting up of the cabins in public places and private institutions.

This is a part of the series of measures taken by the state’s new BJP government after sanctioning one day's paid menstrual leave for the women employees on August 16.

The state also announced “Subhadra” Yojana to provide financial assistance of Rs 50,000 to women.

The official said that the scheme would be launched on September 17.

Meanwhile, sources in the family welfare department said that as per National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5), 68.5 percent of infants were breastfed within the first hour of birth, which was significantly higher than the national average of 41.8 percent.

The rate of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months is 72.9 percent in Odisha, compared to the national average of 63.7 percent.

The recent government order was issued after observation of the World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) from August 1 to August 7.

“Breast milk is crucial as it contains protective antibodies that help infants defend against diseases and is their first source of nutrition," said Dr Sanjukta Sahoo, Director of Family Welfare.

"Breastfeeding benefits both mothers and babies, promoting their lifelong health and development,” Sahoo said.

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