Childrearing related topics attract attention as annual 'two sessions' approach

Nurses take care of newborn babies at a hospital in Zunyi, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo/Xinhua)

As the "two sessions" approach, multiple Chinese lawmakers plan to submit proposals concerning fertility support policies, including promoting sexual and reproductive health education among adolescents, strengthening the protection of women's fertility, as well as a six-month paternity leave policy for new fathers and allowances for working mothers with young children.

According to China Youth Daily, among 2,007 interviewees, topics related to fertility, among other topics such as entrepreneurship and pension, have drawn public attention as the "two sessions" approach, with such topics trending on China's social media platforms.

Zhang Qi, a deputy at the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, and doctor at The First Hospital of Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang Province, plans to submit a proposal to curb the decline of birth rates.

The trend of declining birth rates is partly due to declining fertility rates among women, which are mainly reflected in the persistently high infertility rate, Zhang told the Global Times on Sunday, noting that there are currently approximately 240 million people of childbearing age nationwide, with an infertility rate of around 15 percent, or about 36 million to 48 million people facing difficulty in conceiving children.

According to Zhang, the main factors contributing to infertility include insufficient sexual education among adolescents that leads to a high rate of induced abortions due to unprotected sex, fertility damage resulting from insufficient post-abortion care, delayed marriage and childbirth among modern women, and the increasing prevalence of malignant reproductive tract tumors among younger women.

Zhang suggested the promotion of sexual and reproductive health education among adolescents along with the performance evaluations of governments at all levels, while compiling teaching materials on sexual and reproductive health, as well as marital and relationship education to be taken as compulsory courses.

Zhang will also propose the enhancement of fertility assessment services for elder individuals who have never conceived children, identifying potential diseases that may affect fertility, and helping them achieve an optimal pre-pregnancy state through education and lifestyle management.

Additionally, Zhang will propose the implementation of fertility preservation measures for female cancer patients, including egg, embryo, and ovarian tissue freezing before undergoing radiotherapy or chemotherapy, as well as the strengthening of the early prevention of cervical cancer, with vaccination being included in the public health service.

Another NPC deputy, Zhang Qiang, who is an employee at Taixing power supply company under the State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co, suggested a comprehensive fertility supportive policy system covering aspects from childbirth and childcare to education and housing to cope with some people's hesitance in childbirth and childrearing due to economic burdens be established, by giving suggestions in reducing childbirth costs, balancing family responsibilities, and optimizing educational resources.

He also suggests including assisted reproductive technologies (such as embryo culture), non-invasive prenatal genetic testing, and labor analgesia in medical insurance coverage to reduce the financial burden on families, thereby alleviating the costs associated with childbirth.

He calls for the strict implementation of childcare leave and spouse paternity leave policies, with the "fatherhood leave" system being piloted in some regions, allowing men to apply for up to six months of paternity leave to promote the shared responsibility of childcare, as an effort to cope with the challenges of a continuously declining birth rate and an increasingly aging population that China's population development currently faces.

Besides, at the local "two sessions" in places including Shanghai, Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, East China's Jiangxi Province, other policymakers and political advisors, have also proposed suggestions regarding supportive policies to childbirth and childrearing such as improving financial subsidies for childbirth, improving employment support for women, developing childcare services, and improving the housing rental market, according to the 21st Century Business Herald.