Facing a demographic crisis, Chinese grassroots government workers are now encouraging women to get pregnant, marking a dramatic shift from decades of strict birth control policies.
Jane Huang, a 35-year-old mother in Fujian, was surprised to receive a call from her local district office asking if she was planning for a second child.
“They even offered to remind me of my next ‘ideal time’ to conceive,” she laughed.
China’s Population and Development Research Centre has launched a national survey to understand why many women are hesitant to expand their families.
The study, targeting 30,000 households, aims to uncover obstacles in parenting and gauge interest in having more children.
Despite these pro-birth efforts, many women, like Huang, cite financial and lifestyle concerns as barriers. China’s fertility rate fell to 1.09 in 2022, far below the replacement level of 2.1, intensifying fears of a shrinking, aging population.
Source: South China Morning Post