China launches survey to find out about 'fear of giving birth'

(CLO) China is surveying tens of thousands of people to find out the factors that influence attitudes towards childbirth and "fear of childbirth".

The survey will cover 30,000 people from 150 districts and 1,500 communities in China, the Global Times reported on October 18, citing sources from the China Population and Development Research Center, under the National Health Commission of China (NHC).

The survey aims to analyse "reluctance and fear of having children" and provide support and incentives for reproduction, as China tries to encourage young couples to have children after the country recorded its second consecutive year of population decline in 2023.

A couple takes wedding photos on the beach in Qingdao, Shandong province, China. Photo: Reuters

The survey comes after China's National Bureau of Statistics said it would conduct a nationwide sample survey from October 10 to November 30 to track population changes. China last conducted a family and fertility survey in 2021.

In September, Chinese health officials said they would make more efforts to support marriage and childbirth at an "appropriate age", as well as calling for shared parenting responsibilities to guide young people to "positive views on marriage, childbirth and family".

China is experiencing a “super low” fertility period, with fewer than 1.4 births per woman over her lifetime.

The China Population and Development Research Center estimates the overall fertility rate will fall to 1.09 in 2022, while the number of births will halve from 2016 to 2023, to 9.02 million.

Ngoc Anh (according to Global Times, Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/trung-quoc-khao-sat-de-tim-hieu-ve-noi-so-sinh-con-cua-nguoi-dan-post317528.html