Baby boom adds pressure

With a significant baby boom expected this year, population authorities in the city are calling on young couples to think through all of the implications of having a child in 2007 before making a decision.

More than 137,000 children are expected to be born in the city this year, about 6,000 more births than last year, according to the Shanghai Committee for Population, Resources and the Environment.

"At the beginning of every year, we publish the neonatal forecast on our Website," said Wu Xiangyong, an official with the commission. "We expect parents to take the number into consideration."

The coming "year of the golden pig" is considered "the peak of the baby boom" as it is regarded as a lucky time to have a child.

"Golden pig mothers," however, are now battling for space in crowded hospitals and worrying about their children's futures.

When Lucy Zhang, a human resource manager at an IT company, went to get a regular pregnancy examination at the Shanghai No. 1 Maternity and Children's Health Hospital in Luwan District at the end of last year, she found pregnant women lined up everywhere in the hospital.

She had to wait for registration and for every part of the examination.

"Every time my husband and I got to the hospital about seven in the morning, but the examination never started until 10:30am," she said. "By the time we collect all the reports, it's usually three or four in the afternoon."

Later she found it's hard to register for outpatient service, and had to pay an additional 200 yuan (US$25).

"But I still had to wait in line for several hours," said Zhang.

The baby boom has put a great deal of pressure on some medical centers, well-known obstetrics and gynecology hospitals in particular, as they lack enough beds to handle the extra demand.

Hospitals like the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital affiliated with Fudan University, have tried their best to accept more new mothers. They borrow beds from other departments that don't have many patients, and have turned single rooms into doubles.

"But it is hard to get a bed even if you book it 10 days ahead," said Yu Leping, director of the neonatal section at the hospital.

While mothers fight for a hospital bed now, their children are expected to battle for spots in universities and jobs in the future.

Zhao Weiqi, a 28-year-old middle school English teacher, said when she found she was pregnant in the middle of last year, she had no idea what a Golden Pig Year is.

But when more and more information about the golden pig year and baby boom emerged in the local media, she began to become worried about her child's future schooling and job hunt.

"I believe it will put a lot of pressure on my child," said Zhao. "Maybe he or she will be stronger through so many trials, but I am still concerned about whether the overly fierce competition will have a negative effect on his health, both physically and mentally."

Nie Zheng, a customer service employee, however, is very optimistic about her baby's future. She chose to become pregnant last year, as she believes every baby born in the Year of Pig will have a lucky life.

"I know the competition will be fierce, but I will be a rather tolerant mother," she said. "I just want my baby to grow up happily and won't ask him or her to get full marks in every test or find a job full of gold."

According to the forecast of the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission, the baby boom will continue to 2015, when the birth rate will rise to about 150,000 a year.

"The first generation of children from one-child families have reached childbearing age," said Xie Linli, director of the commission.

Since the country introduced the one-child policy in the late 1970s, 1.4 million city residents from one-child families have entered adulthood, according to the commission.

tags:baby boom  population  children  golden pig  mothers  health  one-child policy  

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