“母乳喂養(yǎng)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(yǎng)對媽媽的產(chǎn)后恢復(fù)也利處一大把……” 以上話語出自國家衛(wèi)生部。在世界母乳喂養(yǎng)周（8月1日－7日）期間，衛(wèi)生部開展大規(guī)模的母乳喂養(yǎng)宣傳活動，廣泛普及嬰幼兒喂養(yǎng)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(yǎng)

post-partum recuperation：產(chǎn)后恢復(fù)

mental retardation：智力低下

（英語點津陳蓓編輯）