As China’s annual “two sessions” approach, policymakers are preparing to submit proposals addressing fertility support policies, with a focus on adolescent reproductive health education, enhanced fertility protection for women, and improved parental leave policies. Proposed measures include a six-month paternity leave for fathers and financial allowances for working mothers with young children.
According to a survey by China Youth Daily involving 2,007 respondents, fertility-related topics, alongside entrepreneurship and pension issues, have garnered significant public interest, trending widely on Chinese social media.
Addressing Declining Birth Rates
Zhang Qi, a National People’s Congress (NPC) deputy and a physician at The First Hospital of Jiaxing in Zhejiang Province, is advocating for policies to counteract China’s declining birth rate. Zhang highlights that infertility is a major factor, with approximately 15% of the country’s 240 million childbearing-age individuals—around 36 to 48 million people—facing conception difficulties.
Zhang attributes infertility to several key factors, including inadequate sexual education among adolescents, leading to high rates of unprotected sex and induced abortions, as well as insufficient post-abortion care. Additional contributors include delayed marriage and childbirth among modern women and an increasing prevalence of reproductive health issues, such as malignant tumors in younger women.
To tackle these issues, Zhang proposes integrating sexual and reproductive health education into school curricula as a mandatory subject. He also suggests improving fertility assessment services for older individuals who have never conceived, enabling early detection of conditions that may affect fertility. Furthermore, Zhang advocates for fertility preservation options for female cancer patients, including freezing eggs, embryos, and ovarian tissue before undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy. He also calls for cervical cancer vaccination to be included in public health programs.
Comprehensive Fertility Support Policies
Another NPC deputy, Zhang Qiang, an employee at Taixing Power Supply Company under the State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co., is pushing for a broad fertility support system. His recommendations focus on reducing childbirth costs, balancing family responsibilities, and optimizing educational resources.
Zhang Qiang proposes that medical insurance should cover assisted reproductive technologies, such as embryo culture, non-invasive prenatal genetic testing, and labor analgesia, to ease financial burdens on families. He also emphasizes the importance of strictly implementing childcare and paternity leave policies. One of his key suggestions is piloting a “fatherhood leave” program in certain regions, allowing men to take up to six months of paternity leave to encourage shared childcare responsibilities.
Regional Proposals for Family Support
Beyond the national level, regional governments are also advocating for childbirth and childrearing support policies. At local “two sessions” in cities such as Shanghai, Chongqing, and Jiangxi Province, political advisors have proposed measures including increased financial subsidies for childbirth, enhanced employment support for women, expanded childcare services, and improvements in the housing rental market.
These proposals reflect growing concerns over China’s declining birth rate and aging population, with policymakers seeking long-term strategies to encourage family growth and ease the economic and social burdens associated with childrearing.
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