Proposal for couples to decide how many children to have in accordance with the population situation

The Ministry of Health proposes to let couples decide how many children to have instead of each couple having one or two children as before - Photo: QUANG DINH

Instead of each couple 'having one or two children', the Ministry of Health recently proposed that couples have the right to decide when to have children, the number of children and the interval between births in accordance with their age, health status, income...

Birth promotion suitable for target groups

Speaking to Tuoi Tre Online , Dr. Bui Chi Thuong - head of obstetrics at Gia Dinh People's Hospital (HCMC) - said that the Ministry of Health's proposal to let couples decide how many children to have is completely reasonable in the context of Vietnam's rapidly aging population.

This proposal is even needed sooner because the current population situation is that people are not rich yet but already old. At the same time, the birth rate in urban areas is alarmingly low, typically in Ho Chi Minh City, the birth rate in 2023 is only 1.32 children. The decrease in birth rate will strongly affect the population structure in the future.

“During the examination of pregnant women at the hospital, many people said that raising children is very difficult and expensive nowadays, and that the cost of living in urban areas is high, so they only choose to have one or two children. Not only urban families, many rural families are also tending to have fewer children because of the cost,” said Dr. Thuong.

According to Dr. Thuong, it is necessary to calculate reasonably and have the most suitable birth promotion policy in urban areas.

In some countries around the world, there are many policies to create conditions for couples such as: when the wife gives birth, the husband is allowed to take time off work, receive a salary to take care of his wife, children go to school for free or have young children and are given priority to reduce working hours...

MSc. Pham Chanh Trung, head of the Department of Population and Family Planning of Ho Chi Minh City, said that one of the current challenges in the birth promotion policy is the unique characteristics of the target groups.

Regarding the Ministry of Health's proposal to let couples decide how many children to have, there should be considerations for consulting different subjects.

Specifically, it can now be divided into three different groups:

For the group who want to have children but are not secure about finances and conditions for raising and caring for children: it is necessary to support conditions for them to feel secure in giving birth and raising children (taking into account the specific conditions of large cities like Ho Chi Minh City) in terms of health care, education and employment.

For the group with financial conditions but with changed views on the age of marriage (later) and having children: communicate to help people understand some of the personal and family consequences of late marriage and having few children.

For the group who want to have children but cannot have children due to health reasons (are facing pressure from primary and secondary infertility treatment) and other groups: support couples preparing to get married to conduct pre-marital health check-ups and support policies for infertility consultation and treatment for couples who do not have the conditions.

Need for "anticipatory" policy

Professor Giang Thanh Long - Faculty of Economics, National Economics University, an experienced expert in the field of population - said that the current low birth rate is not due to policies on population ordinances but because people's awareness of having children has changed.

"Many families are fully qualified to have a third child, but they choose to stop at one or two children because they will have time to take care of their children and ensure the best care conditions.

Having more children means more burden on the family, so like other countries, Vietnamese people also tend to have fewer children, especially in areas with better economic conditions," Mr. Long commented.

To solve the problem of replacement fertility, Mr. Long said that although the current replacement fertility rate nationwide is not at an alarming level, there still need to be policies to "get ahead of the curve".

It is important that social security policies ensure child-rearing so that couples can feel secure in having children.

"If couples have to worry about where their child will study, which school they will attend, whether or not they will have a house, etc., they will have a hard time choosing to have a child. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure social security policies, ensure the learning environment, health care, etc.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/de-xuat-vo-chong-tu-quyet-sinh-bao-nhieu-con-phu-hop-thuc-trang-dan-so-2024071017103147.htm