50 more railway stations to get baby-feeding centres

City Health

A baby-feeding centre has been opened at the Majestic railway station’s AC waiting room. Covered with thick curtains, the centre has two wooden stools for lactating women to sit comfortably and feed their children.

“We have installed the Corner Baby-feeding Centre as a pilot project at the Majestic station. We will soon implement such centres in 50 other stations, including Yeshwantpur and Kengeri,” Raushan Kumar, divisional commercial manager, South Western Railway, Bengaluru division, informed The Observer.

Laxmi, a cleaner at the station, said: “Many women who want to breastfeed their babies come here. There is space only for one person to sit. They have more privacy here compared to the ladies waiting room, which has many chairs.”

Meenakumari, a passenger at the AC waiting room, noted: “It is a very good initiative as the mothers will have privacy. It will help women if such centres are opened in every railway station and also other public places.”

Sangeetha, another passenger, said: “We have these centres in a few places and most of them are closed. Centres like this should be open 24/7. Women can travel freely if such centres are installed at all railway and bus stations.”

Swati Desai of Bangalore Women Power Organization said: “It is a great step to help new mothers as they feel uncomfortable breastfeeding in public.” The government should implement open such facilities in all public spaces.

Public places do not have designated spaces for breastfeeding, and 73% of mothers in Bengaluru want breastfeeding spaces, according to a Deccan Chronicle report published on May 29, 2019.

Feeding rooms are available at the Kempegowda International Airport and in a few malls.

According to news reports, in 2017, BMTC planned to launch lounges at bus stations for lactating moms to feed their babies. It sought a budget of Rs 2.25 crore from the Centre under the Nirbhaya fund, but two years later, there is not one such lounge.

aarthi.n@iijnm.org

Tagged

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *