MORE DOCTORS
The two-child policy has fanned concerns over the urgency to improve maternal and child health care.
According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), 90 million women will qualify for a second child under the two-child policy that took effect on Jan. 1. Sixty percent are over 35 years old, and 50 percent are over 40.
Thus, later pregnancies, which are associated with higher risks, will become more commonplace, said Yang Lan, vice head of maternal and child care service center of Gansu Province.
China also has a shortage of pediatricians.
According to the 2015 China Health Statistics Yearbook, the number of pediatricians has fallen from about 105,000 to 100,000 in the past five years. On average, there are only 43 pediatricians for every 100,000 children.
The government is calling on universities and medical schools to train more midwives and pediatricians, and championing higher salaries to make these occupations more appealing, said Yang Wenzhuang, head of the Department of Community Family Planning with the NHFPC.
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Additionally, childcare and women's careers are big concerns for second-child couples.
According to a survey by China Youth Daily last month, of the 2,001 surveyed, more than half said a lack of care givers was the biggest obstacle preventing them from having a second child.
Sun Xiaomei, a national legislator and professor with China Women's University, said, "Many women complain that they were afraid that a second child would affect their career."
"For one thing, women who have or plan to have a second child may encounter prejudice in terms of employment and promotion," she said, "for another, a lack of public service in such areas as childcare and education could result in economic and emotional pressure."
More infant care centers and high-quality, low-cost kindergartens will be needed. Moreover, governments should launch policies to better protect women's right to work, she suggested.
