Experts call for breastfeeding support from family members

BEIJING -- Chinese experts have called for breastfeeding support for mothers from family members, especially the father of the baby, during this year's World Breastfeeding Week.

The difficulties of breastfeeding, including frequent night feeding and postpartum depression, combined with conflicts with family members, often make breastfeeding mothers want to give up.

The absence of fathers, such as their unwillingness to get up at night and inability to understand the difficulties of breastfeeding, is usually the final straw for mothers, and they give it up.

For infants within six months old, the exclusive breastfeeding rate of families in which the fathers are supportive is 10 percentage points higher than that of families with unsupportive fathers, according to a survey of over 10,000 Chinese mothers of children under one year old by the China Development Research Foundation.

"By helping more, the father of the baby can ease the burden on breastfeeding mothers and help them continue breastfeeding," Fang Jin, secretary-general of the CDRF, said at a forum on breastfeeding Thursday.

Experts also call for more efforts to promote breastfeeding and raise awareness among families and society.

This year's World Breastfeeding Week, the 28th of its kind, lasts from Aug 1 to Aug 7.