Supporting Breastfeeding: How Lactation Counselling Transforms Lives of Mothers and Babies
UNICEF-supported Centre of Excellence strengthens postnatal care, ensuring babies receive essential nourishment
Raipur, Chhattisgarh State, India - Amidst the gentle hum of hospital activity, the Post-Natal-Care (PNC) ward at Chhattisgarh’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Raipur is filled with quiet joy.
Soundly asleep in a cradle or a loving lap, each newborn here shares something in common: they were all breastfed within the first hour of birth.
Kamini, a mother of two, is recovering after a caesarean section. She reclines in her hospital bed, visibly more at ease this time than with her first delivery.
Since giving birth five days ago, she has been visited daily by Dhaleshwari Sahu (fondly called Manya by staff and patients alike), the hospital’s dedicated lactation counsellor. These sessions, Kamini says, have been life-changing.
“It’s the little things—how to hold my baby, making sure her nose isn’t pressed, or just knowing that there’s more than one way to breastfeed. Manya’s advice was more helpful than what my own mother taught me,” she says, as her dimples deepen into the most honest smile.
“With my first child, I felt lost. I didn’t know what I was doing. Breastfeeding was painful and confusing, and I struggled to keep going. This time, I feel prepared. I feel confident.”
Kamini’s experience echoes that of countless mothers across India. The drive to eat and to find the best food for our young is a primal instinct. Mothers and fathers around the world try their best to provide nourishing food for their children with the knowledge and resources available to them. But this is not always an easy task.
From birth to 6 months of age, feeding infants nothing but breastmilk guarantees them a food source that is uniquely adapted to their nutrient needs. Breastfeeding within the first hour of life is a powerful practice that greatly improves a baby’s chance of survival.
Yet in every region of the world, rates of exclusive breastfeeding decline steadily from birth to 5 months of age. Data shows that in South Asia, only 39 percent of babies are put to breast within the first hour of birth. In India, according to the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5), 58 percent children are not breastfed within the first hour of birth.
On the bed across from Kamini, Chiranjeet Kaur nods in agreement. Her first delivery also took place at AIIMS Raipur, but four years ago, when lactation counselling wasn’t available.
“I struggled then too,” she recalls. “Now, things are so much better.” Kamini and Chiranjeet exchange a knowing glance. “It’s not just what is taught,” Kamini adds, “it’s how it’s taught. Ms. Manya explains everything with such patience.”
In its role as a UNICEF-supported State Center of Excellence (SCoE) for nutrition since 2019; in 2023, AIIMS Raipur established an ‘infant and young child feeding (IYCF) resource centre and skill lab’ with technical support from UNICEF and Dr. Nagma N. Shah
Through robust skill-building of hospital-based counsellors in IYCF counselling, the CoE aims to strengthen postnatal care and ensure that babies begin life with the nourishment they need.
While the hospital already hosted a Nutrition Rehabilitation Center (NRC) and a SMART Unit for managing severe malnutrition, lactation counselling became a critical preventive service—helping children stay healthy from the very start.
For Kamini, this support was essential. She was dealing with cracked and inverted nipples, a condition that might have prevented early breastfeeding altogether.
“They started preparing me even before delivery,” she says. “ Manya explained why that first-hour matters so much. I’m so grateful.” Breastfeeding after a caesarean section often comes with additional challenges, from pain and immobility to limited family support.
“If I had been at home, I don’t know how I would have managed, childbirth is considered such an everyday affair” Kamini says.
“But here, I’m cared for so well that I’m tempted to stay a few extra days!” Along with continued lactation counselling, Kamini is also receiving guidance on ensuring her own diet and nutrition once she goes home.
The support she received has already empowered her to help others. “Yesterday, a new mother came into the ward with only a young relative for help. I could see she was struggling, so I stepped in. I actually helped her breastfeed her baby!” Kamini says proudly.
With AIIMS and UNICEF’s joint effort to introduce lactation counselling, every woman who has delivered at AIIMS Raipur has benefitted from the service.
The hospital has also eliminated pre-lacteal feeding - the practice of giving honey, water, or other liquids before breastmilk - which is still a common cultural practice in many parts of the world.
Globally, one in every three newborns still receives food or liquids in the earliest days of life, when their bodies are most vulnerable.
Manya notes that the hospital is now fully pre-lacteal-free, which is a significant step forward for children in the state. Building on this success, AIIMS Raipur plans to establish a comprehensive Lactation Management Unit to provide even more robust support to mothers in the future.
We still don’t know what Kamini will name her daughter. But we do know this: her child has got a better start in life. With the proper knowledge, gentle care, and timely support, Kamini has been able to pass on something that every child deserves—a strong, healthy beginning.
And in doing so, she has become a quiet advocate for change, one feed at a time.
