Kiki Valentine breastfeeds her 9-week-old son, Hart Valentine, on the steps of City Hall during a rally to support breastfeeding in public on Aug. 8, 2014 in New York City. (Photo : Getty Images)
New Chinese mothers are calling for better government support for public breastfeeding as most moms struggle for better health services in the country where infant formula is more popular.
A report from Women of China revealed how hundreds of new mothers in the country's southeastern province of Fujian took part in a campaign that aims to promote and raise awareness on the benefits of breastfeeding babies.
According to the report, majority of Chinese women tend to turn to infant formula even though studies revealed that children who are breastfed grow to have stronger immune systems.
Statistics cited by CRIEnglish showed that only 28 percent of all Chinese mothers have tried breastfeeding their children.
According to the outlet, this is a very low number compared to those recorded in other countries such as Japan and the United States, where more than 80 percent of all mothers are breastfeeding.
Why Is Breastfeeding Not Popular in China?
In 2015, Reuters reported how the Chinese government revealed their idea of banning advertisements for infant formulas to make way for breastfeeding.
While China had acknowledged the problem, their course of action may not be as effective, a Bloomberg report argued.
"China deserves credit for acknowledging this problem, but it's unlikely an advertising ban will make much of a difference," it stated. "China's breastfeeding problems trace back to cultural practices and economic trends that don't have an easy fix."
Bloomberg then went on to analyze the entirety of the problem, which basically revolves around cultural factors such as "zuo yuezi," or the traditional postnatal "confinement" period where the mother remains at home to rest for 30 days.
Apparently, most Chinese citizens opt to remove the burden of feeding a newborn baby from the mother to another person by choosing to feed the little one artificial milk.
Problems of Breastfeeding Mothers
New mothers in Fujian Province joined the celebration of the 26th National Breastfeeding Awareness Day in China on May 20.
Because it is not a popular concept in the country, the mothers' participation in the event became a notable improvement in the overall acceptance of pubic breastfeeding.
Aside from the shaming public breastfeeding mothers are subjected to, they also receive less health support from the government especially when their breasts become inflamed from feeding their babies.
According to Shanghai Daily, these mothers turn to masseuse instead of hospitals to seek treatment for their painful breasts.
"My dream is to have massage studios for breastfeeding mothers across the country," 52-year-old masseuse Shi Guilan explained. This service has turned out to be a lucrative business in the country.
While it may bring ease to some, massage is risky and has no guarantee of treating the inflammation of the breasts.
