Double income, need kids

Xiao Hou (pseudonym) never planned to have kids when she married four years ago. Thoughts of a painful labor, stretch lines across her abdomen and sagging breasts were enough to convince her that children were the last thing she needed in life.

As some people get older, they value having a family more than money. Photo: Li Hao/GT

But recently Xiao Hou, 30, has felt broody and questioned whether she and her husband's DINK (double income, no kids) lifestyle is really what they still want. Despite thinking she would never tire of a life free of dirty diapers and sleepless nights, now Xiao said she "can't wait another second to get pregnant."

"Over the past year, all of my close female friends around my age have either become pregnant or given birth. I feel that I have been left alone," said Xiao. "Every time I visit [friends] in hospital, they tell me to hurry and catch up to them. My parents and elder sister have also urged me to have a baby."

Apart from growing pressure from friends and family, Xiao also feels she has arrived at a forked road because of her age: if she is to have a baby, it's now or never.

"If I don't have a kid at 30, I don't think I will ever have one. I can't wait any longer," she said.

No matter how committed young, carefree couples are to the DINK lifestyle, social pressure in China to have children is causing a growing number to change their minds later in life. The number of women delaying motherhood until 35 or over has surged in recent decades, said Wang Qi, an obstetrician at Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital.

"Thirty years ago, about 5 percent of women at our hospital were older moms [35 or over]. Now, it's almost ten percent," Wang Qi said.


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