An image of a woman nursing her baby on a crowded Beijing subway has ignited a national debate on the acceptability of breastfeeding in public in China.
The photograph was taken by an onlooker and posted on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
It was captioned: “Let me remind you — this is a Beijing subway not a bus running in your village.”
The photograph went viral after it was reposted by a volunteer organisation (responsible for cleaning up subway flyers), which chastised the mother for exposing her “sexual organs” in public.
Many social media users leapt to her defence however, with one woman, doctor Ou Qian writing:
“It’d be ideal if she had used a nursing cover, but it’s not a big deal if she didn’t have one. Breasts are…for babies; they are not sexual organs.
“Babies need to be fed when they are hungry. She is a great mum.”
The original post has now been deleted and both the photographer and volunteer group has apologised, but not without significant furore on both sides of the debate.
In China, “confinement” of new mothers is still relatively common place — with many women expected to remain indoors and follow a complex set of rules to care for themselves for the first 30 days following giving birth.
Combined with short maternity leave and no laws specifically allowing women to breastfeed in public spaces, a significant number of Chinese mothers are choosing to rely on formula.
According to the World Health Organisation, in 2014, fewer than 16% of Chinese mothers breastfed their children for the recommended period of six months.
The rate is higher in rural areas (around 30%), though still below the global average (40%).
In 2008, 54,000 babies were hospitalised because of formula found to contain a chemical called melamine — a building block for cyanide.
Six infants died and 300,000 overall were affected.
This has led to many Chinese women seeking to buy baby formula from overseas markets — including from Australia.
Arguably, it could be seen as the source of our own highly publicised “formula shortage”, that has seen some popular brands disappearing from local shelves.
Chinese authorities have made some attempt to address low breastfeeding rates, in April a ban on formula advertising was considered and the country has launched a breastfeeding awareness day to take place each May, but clearly the practice is still frowned upon by many.
“If I saw a pretty woman’s breasts exposed I’d stare, because I’m a man,” one Weibo user commented on the original image, receiving thousands of likes.
When attitudes like this are levelled at a mother simply trying to feed her hungry baby in public, is it any wonder Chinese women are reluctant to breastfeed?
Feature image: Chinese mothers breastfeed their babies in a subway during an event of the world breastfeeding week on August 1, 2015. Via Getty.
Top Comments
Banning advertising of formula? I seriously doubt that would have anything to do with increasing the rates of breastfeeding. I dont know a mother who would not intend to or want to breastfeed her baby. Every mother I know who has stopped breastfeeding before the recommended 6 month mark has done so because it wasnt working, there were issues with supply, baby not gaining enough weight etc. Nothing to do with being dazzled by formula advertising!
We need to understand and accept that a happy and healthy mother and baby is equally as important as encouraging all new mums to breastfeed. But when pursuing breastfeeding is coming at the expense of the health of the baby, the health of the mother, or indeed the mental health of the mother when she is being pressured to do so or trying to keep it going after returning to work its not the best choice and formula does have its place.
This article isn't talking about breastfeeding "not working" though. It is talking about Chinese mothers making the choice not to breastfeed because it isn't as accepted as a natural thing to do and they don't feel supported.