Meet Vandana, a 25 year old mother of an 18 month old who hasn't stopped crying since birth. Vandana says it's because her child has never been fed enough to feel full. Her husband is unemployed, so Vandana has to manage her household on a very meagre budget, which means there is never enough to eat, and whatever there is is not healthy enough. Vandana and her child are prone to malnutrition and anaemia, two very serious afflictions affecting a significant number of children and women in India.

When Vandana attends to her child, her family taunts her that she is shirking work, that she uses her child as an excuse to avoid work. They would if prefer if Vandana let her infant cry and finish her housework first.

August 1-7 marks the world breastfeeding awareness week. We will be bringing you stories of women at work from Chitrakoot.
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