Following a public backlash, China’s health authorities to remove propaganda suggesting that giving birth could make women smarter, prevent tumours and relieve menstrual cramps.
The National Health Commission (NHC) made the claims in an article posted online on Wednesday to urge Chinese women to have children and combat a looming demographic crisis. But by Friday the article had been removed.
There was no official explanation but the article disappeared after a wave of angry and dismissive posts from the public about the government’s tactics in trying to boost China’s birth rate.
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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 science, 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 unveiled a childbirth subsidy system, further tax cuts, and medical, housing and leave benefits to help build a “birth-friendly society”. Some analysts forecast spending could reach 500 billion yuan (US$70 billion) a year.
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