Xinjiang to Build More Nursing Rooms for Breastfeeding Mothe

There is some good news for women workers of childbearing age as Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is all set to have more nursing rooms this year.

The news came from the Xinjiang Federation of Trade Unions as the National Breastfeeding Awareness Day, which falls on May 20, is approaching.

According to the federation, more than 4,200 units in the autonomous region had set up nursing rooms, and about 143,000 women employees have benefited from it.

Since 2016, the federation has allocated a special fund of 500,000 yuan (US $70,410.63) per year to support grassroots units to build nursing rooms for women workers. In 2017, it urged units and companies that have many women workers across the region to open such rooms to fit women workers' needs.

The basic equipment of the nursing rooms includes tables, chairs and power sockets. The rooms can also have refrigerators, washing basins and bookshelves with childcare magazines.

The federation also encouraged all units to open their nursing rooms, especially those built in public places, to the public, so more women can enjoy the convenience.

To popularize legal knowledge and help women workers read more books, the federation distributed newspapers and books on rights protection, lifestyle, health and child rearing to some nursing rooms earlier this year.

The federation will continue to invest special fund to expand the coverage of nursing rooms across the autonomous region.

Chen Xiaoli, 29, is a working mother in Urumqi, capital city of the autonomous region. She had to express breast milk during breaks in washrooms, as the unit she worked for did not have a nursing room before. "The nursing rooms will surely be very popular with working mums," said Chen.

(Source: ts.cn/Translated and edited by Women of China)