“母乳喂養有利于提高嬰兒智力、有利于防止嬰兒肥胖、有利于增強嬰兒免疫力；此外，母乳喂養對媽媽的產后恢復也利處一大把……” 以上話語出自國家衛生部。在世界母乳喂養周（8月1日－7日）期間，衛生部開展大規模的母乳喂養宣傳活動，廣泛普及嬰幼兒喂養知識。

A woman breastfeeds her baby in Bordeaux, southwest France April 27, 2006.

China has launched a campaign to persuade more women to breast feed, worried that Chinese babies' development lags developed countries because they are not fed properly in their first months of life.

The government is also worried about the growing use ofpowdered baby milkformula -- which many Chinese believe is more "modern" and better for the baby.

"Breast milkis a necessary and ideal food for a baby, and the nutrients it contains are the most suitable for the baby's digestion and nourishment," the Health Ministry said on Wednesday in a statement on its Web site (www.moh.gov.cn).

"For mothers,breast feedingis beneficial topost-partum recuperation," it added, without saying what the breast-feeding rate was in China.

Chinese babies put on less weight in their first six months than babies in developed countries, the ministry said.

"The main reason is parents lack scientific knowledge about feeding," it said, adding that problems caused by poor baby nutrition might includemental retardation.

There was a particular problem in the countryside, where parents did not know when or how to best start introducing solid food to babies or how to balance their nutritional requirements, the ministry said.

Studies around the world have shown that breast-feeding has many advantages for children including reducing infections, respiratory illnesses and diarrhea.

Other studies have shown that babies who are breast-fed for the first six months of life grow better without getting too fat.

（Agencies） 

Vocabulary: 

powdered baby milk：嬰兒奶粉

Breast milk：母乳

breast feeding：母乳喂養

post-partum recuperation：產后恢復

mental retardation：智力低下

（英語點津陳蓓編輯）