By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-11-01 06:09:47 | Updated at 2024-11-01 08:27:05
2 hours ago
A public backlash has prompted China’s health authorities to remove propaganda saying that giving birth could make women smarter, prevent tumours and relieve menstrual cramps, an article posted to urge Chinese women to have children and combat a looming demographic crisis.
The WeChat article was posted on Wednesday by the National Health Commission (NHC) but by Friday it had been removed.
There was no official explanation but the disappearance of the post followed a wave of angry and dismissive posts from the public about the government’s tactics in trying to boost China’s birth rate.
03:23
China posts record-low birth rate despite government push for babies
China posts record-low birth rate despite government push for babies
In its post, the NHC said pregnancy and birth was a “difficult and beautiful journey, where women will go through physical and psychological changes”.
“There are positive and negative changes, but pregnant women and their families should focus more on the positive values of birth,” it said.
It went on to list four benefits and said each was backed by scientific explanations, including that giving birth could expand a woman’s narrow cervical canal, which could relieve menstrual cramps for some.
The article said that while pregnant, a woman’s body could also produce antibodies that prevent ovarian cancer, and hormones could “make a woman’s brain more energetic and help her face the challenges of being a mother”.
It was the latest effort from Chinese authorities to encourage more births. Just two days before the post, China’s cabinet said in a new directive it hoped to build a “birth-friendly society”, announcing a childbirth subsidy system, further tax cuts, and medical, housing and leave benefits. Some analysts forecast spending could reach 500 billion yuan (US$70 billion) a year.
