Why breastfeeding rates have dropped in India: insights from NFHS-6
Recent data from NFHS-6 indicates a decline in exclusive breastfeeding rates in India, despite improvements in other maternal healthcare indicators like institutional deliveries. Researchers are investigating the causes, including potential survey methodology impacts.
Why it matters
Breastfeeding is a vital indicator of child nutrition and public health; understanding the decline is essential for improving long-term health outcomes for infants.
Maternal healthcare indicators in India have shown consistent improvement over the past few years. Not only did the percentage of women delivering in hospitals increase, but the number of women receiving postnatal check-ups within two days of birth has also increased. However, C-section rates have also risen. These trends continued in the most recent National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6, 2023–24), with institutional deliveries reaching 90.6% and postnatal care coverage at 82.8%
However, exclusive breastfeeding rates did not follow this route. The percentage of infants exclusively breastfed for the first six months increased from 54.9% in NFHS-4 to 63.7% in NFHS-5 but again declined to 55.8% in NFHS-6. This development effectively brings us back to where we started nearly a decade ago, in just three years.
State-level NFHS data were analysed to examine the apparent divergence between improvements in institutional delivery and declines in exclusive breastfeeding.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in