Giving mother's family name to infants gains popularity in China

YINCHUAN - Each time Ren Ran introduces his baby girl, he sees the surprise on people's faces. But he has never regretted the decision to give his daughter her mother's surname instead of his own.

"Before my wife gave birth a year ago, her water broke too early and she needed oxytocin," Ren recalled. "She suffered for an entire day in the delivery room, and I could do nothing." So he decided to give their daughter his wife's surname, Ding, as a way of expressing his gratitude.

"Mothers are some of the greatest people in the world," Ren said. "They spend almost a whole year pregnant and suffer during labor."