In China, they try by all means to increase poor breastfeeding rates (only 28 percent of Chinese women exclusively breastfeed their babies up to six months). To contribute to it, UNICEF China has seen necessary encourage the creation of nursing rooms in public places, so it has launched the 10 m2 campaign of Love, with a good intention but a message quite unfortunate from my point of view.
Precisely, following the already known as Primark case we have reflected these days on the need and the right to breastfeed in public. To normalize the fact of breastfeeding in public, without the need to hide in breastfeeding rooms, which are necessary in case the mother wishes to use them but not because others are bothered to see the scene.
Above you can see the promotional video that UNICEF has launched together with the National Center for Women's and Children's Health and the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (NCWCH) in which it seems that the mother had to hide somewhere "private" To feed your baby who cries incessantly. It seems that more than encouraging breastfeeding, hiding in a breastfeeding room is promoted.
With these extra 10m2, I'm not going to have to hide in a car to breastfeed anymore, "says Kangene, a UNICEF microblog follower.
There is no reason to hide, either in a car or in a nursing room, but to find the most comfortable place for you and your baby, whether public or private. Whether you prefer to breastfeed in the car, on a bench in the square, on the beach or covered by a breastfeeding cover, as you feel more comfortable. But that the decision is proper and free.
Maybe things are different in China and it may be culturally bad to see a woman breastfeeding her son, but it's time to start changing things and normalize breastfeeding as natural, which can be done in public without anyone being horrified.
Maybe those 10 m2 of Love that are intended to create in public and commercial sites are a paradise for many women. I hope they enjoy better conditions than some painful nursing rooms, and that they provide facilities for mothers to breastfeed their babies for longer. If it is achieved, great, although I doubt it is the means to increase breastfeeding rates.
What I believe is that the message, in addition to giving them the option of finding a suitable breastfeeding site, which seems necessary to me if there is a desire to use it, should also be transmitted to mothers who they don't have to wait to attend to the crying of their hungry baby because it may be bad to breastfeed in public.
What do you think of the UNICEF China campaign to encourage the creation of nursing rooms? Did it give you the same feeling?
