Child care in the People's Republic of China: 1973
Wray, J.D.
Pediatrics 55(4): 539-550
1975
ISSN/ISBN: 0031-4005 PMID: 1128963 Document Number: 96060
2. The author reviews the facilities available for child care on the basis of personal impressions as a member of the Early Childhood Development Delegation which toured China in 1973. The infant mortality statistics are considered in detail and figures available for different parts of China, quoted during personal conversation, are compared with those for other areas of the world. The striking fall in mortality rates to figures comparable to those of westernised countries is discussed in the light of the prevalence of breast feeding and the generally available health care facilities of a simple but hygienic nature. Statistics are provided for the growth in weight and height of Chinese children up to the age of 7 years and compared with those for Chinese infants in Hong Kong and Singapore. The enormous improvement in child health and physical development accomplished in China within the space of 25 years is compared with similar improvements in limited areas of the USA resulting from improvement in living conditions and basic child-care facilities, rather than from sophisticated medical achievements.