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Full-time American mother advocates breastfeeding

Writer: Zhang Zishuai  | Editor: Jane Chen  | From:  | Updated: 2016-09-05

Email of the writer: 1796046273@qq.com

Saga McFarland

While it's not common to see new mothers breastfeeding their babies in public venues in Shenzhen, American Saga McFarland was totally at ease breastfeeding her 6-month-old daughter while talking to Shenzhen Daily reporters at a Starbucks outlet in Luohu District.

"Breastfeeding is the healthiest and most convenient way to bring up a baby," she said. "It's a misbelief that baby formula is more nutritious than a mother's milk."

In the United States, according to the 25-year-old mother who has lived in China for almost 10 years, new mothers are not shy about breastfeeding in public areas.

Having relocated to Shenzhen from Beijing last year, McFarland said she finds attitudes towards breastfeeding are changing in China, especially in big cities. "An increasing number of Chinese new mothers choose to breastfeed their babies, and from time to time, I can see a few doing that in public," she said.

McFarland came to China with her parents in 2007 for their career and attended an international school in Beijing. Later she was admitted to a Hong Kong university and majored in journalism. While in Beijing she met her husband, from Sichuan Province who works as a bartender. She speaks and writes in Chinese proficiently, but there are times when she feels some of the culture is difficult to understand.

"While we were throwing a party to mark our baby's first 100 days in my husband's hometown, I found many of his friends and relatives smoking indoor," she said. "But he thought it was OK and it was not proper to stop the guests' smoking. I was hurt and felt that he cared more about his friends and relatives than our baby's health."

Being a full-time expat mother, McFarland said she would be happy to join new mothers' groups to make friends if there were any in Shenzhen.