Taj Mahal To Be The First Indian Monument To Have A Breastfeeding Room

Taj Mahal To Be The First Indian Monument To Have A Breastfeeding Room
Times Of India

The Taj Mahal, India’s UNESCO Heritage site, is all set to get a breastfeeding room this July. A monument symbolising eternal love and a place dedicated to the woman who lost her life during childbirth, The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) decided to install breastfeeding rooms with proper amenities like lights, fans, chairs and other facilities keeping the mother’s comfort in mind.

Vasant Kumar Swarnakar, a top official with the ASI, told Reuters that the sight of a mother struggling to feed her baby at the monument gave him the inspiration to take this step. He said, “The woman was crouched and hiding under the staircase, while her husband stood near her to provide cover. I could see it was difficult for her, which is basic motherhood right. So I thought we have to do something.”

In India, we have conservative attitude towards public breastfeeding, where nursing mothers are often shamed and told to cover up by feeding the baby in the toilets or other areas where she cannot be seen. It is still viewed as a stigma, where the lactating mothers are expected to be covered from head to toe, making it difficult for the mothers to feed their babies.

The Taj Mahal, one of the most recognised touristic spots in the world, attracts over 8 million in-land and foreign visitors annually, belonging to different age groups. Some of these tourists, especially with infants are forced to feed their children in open or inside toilets. Hence, ASI took the decision to install a breastfeeding room, making the Taj the first ever monument in the country to have this facility out of the 3600 plus other Indian monuments.

Swarnakar has ordered other two historical monuments in Agra to set up similar breastfeeding rooms. “My hope is that more and more monuments – not only in India but around the world replicate this plan so that women can feed their babies comfortably.”

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