A study by Peking University claiming that women who have three to four children face the lowest death risk has sparked ridicule across the mainland internet. One widely shared comment joked that caring for three or four children would leave a mother “too exhausted to think about anything else,” in a jab at the study’s conclusions.
According to mainland media, the research, published in the Chinese Medical Journal, tracked 510,000 adults in China for 12 years. It found that childless men and women had significantly higher risks of mental disorders, heart disease, and overall mortality. For women, each additional childbirth was linked to a lower risk of breast cancer but a higher chance of gallstones.
Researchers said the lowest mortality risk for women was seen among those with three or four children, citing emotional support and lifestyle factors.
The findings quickly drew online mockery, with netizens calling the study “out of touch” amid rising childcare costs and falling birth rates. Some questioned the methodology and noted that decades of family-planning policies make large-family data limited.
As widely known, China has been stepping up efforts to boost its birth rate as the population ages and the workforce shrinks.
