Rate of Breastfeeding in China Declined to 30 Percent

The rate of breastfeeding of infants under six months old in China is 29.2 percent, according to a recent survey by the China Development Research Foundation.

The survey, conducted between September 2017 and January 2018 among over 10,000 mothers with infant children across the country, also found that only 11.3 percent of the participants breastfed their children within an hour after birth. The World Health Organization recommended that infants be breastfed within an hour after birth and continue to be breastfed until they are six months old.

Fang Jin, deputy secretary general of the foundation, attributed the low rate of breastfeeding to easy access to breast milk substitutes and the misleading advertising of such products. The lack of public awareness as well as deficiency of support from family and social communities, including medical institutions, are also contributing reasons to the declining number of mothers who choose to breastfeed their children, said Fang.

The report called for measures to be taken to raise public awareness, encourage medical care institutions to provide support and improve the legislation for maternity leave and a childbirth insurance system.