One of the passionate projects for me at Lensdoula Photography for the World Breastfeeding Week was to capture the cherished moments of a mom breastfeeding her child. What forms a nation is its people and India’s folks are contrasting in many ways. In one aspect rural India is completely fine with breastfeeding openly and the Urban folks find it taboo in several aspects. Since I have a passion for working with mothers it allows me to understand, connect and feel a women’s emotions at such times. I thought it’s prerogative for me to support the cause of breastfeeding and create social awareness with my creativity & vision in photography.
Here are the moms who were a part of the project and what breastfeeding, and in public means to them:
Neha Chopra:
Breastfeeding for me is normal, natural and instinctual. It fulfils two functions – nourishment and nurturing. The initial year or two is about nourishment because it provides nutrition, and after that breastfeeding enters a nurturing phase – it is calming for moms and soothing for babies.
Rithika Ramesh:
For me as a mother, breastfeeding has a deeper significance. I realised we are no different from any other species when it comes to the love we have for our children and that just because we can, we should not be taking away this right to love and nurture from any other being. And that is why I am proud and fortunate to be a vegan, breastfeeding mother.
Seema Gupta Manchanda:
I think, as a mother, the best thing that nature has bestowed upon me is the power to breastfeed. No sterilisation required, no luggage to carry, no pacifiers needed, all u do is nurse, nurse and nurse as a response to any kind of discomfort to the baby whether she is hungry, thirsty, tired, sleepy, scared, bored etc. And you can do it just about anywhere. I have fed my daughter in cars, restaurants, on the beach, on the train, in a rickshaw, on a boat, and even on an elephant once. I feel like a superman ( superwoman) with my nursing cover. It gives a sense of emotional security to my baby because she can smell me, hear my heartbeat and experience all that she did in her months in my womb. It is her home. My milk is my baby’s right. Why would I choose anything else?
Greeshma Ramachandraiah:
With eight dreamy years of marriage behind us, our first-born tore into our world with paramount joy and anxiety entwined inseparably. An absolute stranger was put to my chest within a few minutes of his first cry. While he splashed a dose of intimidating gazes at me, I saw what an exceptionally pretty face was his. Every time I took him, he prepared me for the unending mornings, noons and nights of motherhood. Gradually, he nourished me with the faith in my strength and nourished himself with the resilience for his sustenance. Slowly, he built and bound us with an unshakeable fortitude, as he nursed incessantly, round the clock. Breastfeeding has succoured us in some myriad inexplicable ways than one. I modestly encourage all new mothers to give it a shot before deciding against and persist one more time before tiring out.
KSP Team
Janani S Koushik
